Unity
by Annarita
Summary: Series of one shots/ficlets that take place in my Together Universe. Random glimpses into the lives and everyday moments of Harm, Mac, and Caroline as life continues to go on.
1. Chapter 1

**Unity**

A/N: So... here we are. This a series of one shots/ficlets for the Rabb family I crafted in Together and Tell Me The Story. Each chapter will most likely be short and unrelated to the previous installment. I'll update this story whenever inspiration strikes, but I'm not sure if the story will take place in chronological order or not.

Just pay attention to the date at the start of each chapter so you will know where it falls in the timeline, and we should be good.

Disclaimer: As always, I only own the typos.

Rating: K

* * *

Rabb Residence  
March 2011

It was a beautiful day.

The sun was shining. Laughter filled the air. Life was _good_.

Caroline was running around in the backyard – her laughter was contagious as she repeatedly asked her parents to blow bubbles for her. She would giggle, then clap her hands before running through the bubbles. "Watch, Audrey! You can play, too!"

Caroline skipped over to where her mother was sitting on the deck with Audrey in her arms.

Audrey smiled, but before she could even reach for a bubble, thunder roared, lightning flashed, and it began to rain.

Audrey disappeared.

She was gone.

Alas – it was all a dream.

* * *

Harmon Rabb jolted awake and scrubbed his hand over his face. He blinked a few times as his eyes adjusted to the darkness and he focused on the clock on his nightstand.

It was 0537 according to the red numbers staring back it him.

He glanced at his wife who appeared to be sleeping soundly on her side, facing away from him. He leaned over and placed a soft kiss on her temple before he carefully slipped out of bed and ventured downstairs.

It didn't take long for Mac to find him standing by the sink, staring out the kitchen window, lost in thought. She pulled the cinch on her robe tighter to ward off the chill in the air, and wondered if her husband would ever be cold. He was wearing flannel pajama pants, but no shirt, and he was barefoot. She thought back to early on in their marriage. There were cold winter nights where she would have on flannel pajamas, fuzzy socks, and multiple blankets to stay warm, and Harm would go to bed wearing only a pair of boxers – sometimes he wouldn't even use a blanket.

In typical Harmon Rabb fashion, he made sure to wear actual pajama bottoms instead of _just _boxers once Caroline was born. Mac remembered bringing it to his attention once when Caroline was just a baby.

The memory made her smile.

"_Of course, I am going to wear pajama bottoms now, Mac! She can't see me in my underwear!"_  
_"Harm! She's only four months old! She has no idea!"_

Quietly, with a small smile still on her lips, she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. She placed her head against his back - his skin felt cold against her cheek.

He didn't even flinch when she came up behind him – he sensed her presence the minute she entered the kitchen.

"Hey," he whispered.

"Hey, yourself."

"Why aren't you sleeping?" He asked softly.

"Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing."

Harm smiled and placed his hands over hers. "Good thing I asked you first, then."

"Well," she drew out the one syllable word longer than necessary as she scraped her fingernails along his chest seductively. "I was pretty sure I felt my husband kiss my forehead. I waited patiently for three minutes and fifty seconds, wondering if he was going to come back and make another move on me, but nothing ever happened. So, I went looking for him. Your turn."

"I was just thinking…"

"About?" She prompted.

"A dream I had…"

He trailed off, not saying anything else, but Mac could tell by his tone what it must have been about. "About Audrey." It was more of a statement than a question.

He nodded.

"Harm…I thought we had a deal. We're supposed to wake each other up when we have those kinds of dreams."

He turned around so that they were facing each other and tightened his arms around her waist. "Actually, as I recall, we said we would wake each other up if we had _nightmares_. I wouldn't call this a nightmare per se, Mac. It was just sad."

She rolled her eyes. Leave it to Harm to bring up the technicality. "Spoken like a true lawyer. I'm glad to see that all these years away from actually litigating in the courtroom didn't dull your skills." She smiled softly.

"Well, I happen to be married to a very good attorney. She keeps me on my toes. You might know her actually," he teased.

She chuckled and playfully swatted his chest, but there was a pause before Mac spoke again. "Harm?"

"Yeah, Mac?" he answered distractedly as he drew lazy circles over her back with his fingers.

"Will you tell me about it? About your dream? Please?"

"Are you sure?'

She didn't answer verbally, she only nodded against his chest.

"Well," he began. "It was a very beautiful summer or spring day outside. The skies were so blue, the grass was so green –perfect flying weather, actually." He grinned. "We were outside in the backyard. Caroline was running around laughing and giggling. Isn't her laugh one of the most beautiful sounds in the entire world?" Mac nodded, and Harm continued. "She was having so much fun. You and I would take turns blowing bubbles and she would alternate between trying to pop them and trying to catch them.''

Mac closed her eyes – visualizing the scene.

"And you …. You were holding Audrey on your lap…she was probably about a year or so old. Caroline was telling her that she could play with the bubbles, too."

"What did she look like? Did she look like Caroline?"

Harm swallowed. "In some ways, but not completely. She had darker hair…it was more of a blondish-brown, but just as curly. She had your skin color and your eyes."

"But like Caroline, she had your smile," Mac supplied.

"How'd you know?"

"Because that's how I picture her, too. Exactly."

"We made beautiful babies, Mac."

"Yeah," she agreed. "Then what happened?" She asked after a beat had passed.

"Then it started to storm, Audrey disappeared, and I woke up," he shrugged sadly.

"That does sound like it started out as a very beautiful dream, though."

"It was."

"Then I would like to believe that Audrey just wanted to say hello, and she came to you in your dream."

"Me, too, Mac."

Harm didn't know how long they stood like that (although Mac would say it was seven minutes and sixteen seconds) in the middle of the kitchen wrapped in each other's embrace thinking about Audrey. Although Audrey would never grow on Earth, she would forever grow in their hearts. The constant, heart crushing grief that existed in the first few months lessened, but he knew that the dull ache of missing her would never quite subside. Just like Harriet had told him that night in the hospital – there's a point where you become accustomed to it and it is your new normal.

When those thoughts of Audrey brought Harm to the memories of Mac almost dying in the operating room, he pulled Mac as close to him as humanly possible. He thanked God every day that he didn't lose both of them that night. "I'm glad you're here," he whispered against her ear, his voice cracking with emotion. Yes, he was glad that she was literally standing in the middle of the kitchen with him, but he was even more grateful that she was alive and well.

Her lips captured his in a comforting and assuring kiss. There were no need for words anymore in that moment.

"Come on, Harm," she practically sang as she tugged his hand and pulled him to the stairs. "Caroline will be awake in an hour or so. Let's go back to bed."


	2. Chapter 2

Well, NCIS:LA broke me last night and destroyed my muse at the moment. I'm glad I had this finished before it aired.

* * *

Rabb Residence  
May 2011

"Car-o-line," Harmon Rabb called in a sing-song voice as he entered his daughter's room. "It's time to wake up."

Caroline rolled over dramatically and covered her face with her hands. "But I'm _exhausted, _Daddy."

Harm bit back a chuckle. Sometimes Caroline seemed so much older to him than four years old. "See, that's what happens when you stay up past your bedtime."

"Daddy_," _she began. "I wasn't tired at bedtime. I'm tired _now_."

"Well, you can't sleep the day away," he said as he walked further into the room and sat on the edge of her bed. "Did you forget what today is, Itsy Bitsy?"

At that, Caroline jumped out of the bed and ran over to the wall where her father had placed a calendar a few nights ago. She carefully studied the red x's on it before determining that it was Saturday. "It's Saturday!" she declared.

Harm nodded and asked, "And what does that mean?"

"MOMMA COMES HOME!" Caroline screamed as she ran back to the bed and jumped on her father's lap. "Mommy will be here TODAY!" She smiled. "TODAY!"

"You missed Mommy bunches, huh?"

Caroline nodded. "I miss you too when you go away, Daddy, but this is the first time Mommy had to go away." She said sadly.

"I know, Itsy Bitsy." He kissed the top of her head.

On Monday morning, Mac had left for a legal conference in San Diego. It was a three-day event that lasted from Tuesday to Thursday. The event would cover all the hours that she needed for her continuing legal education credits for the year. There was also a special lecture about adult adoptions. The presenter of that seminar knew enough about Mac and her law firm to know that Mac was involved personally with an adult adoption not that long ago, so he decided to ask her to be the special guest speaker. Mac hadn't even been back at work for a year yet, and she was so honored and grateful to be given the opportunity to speak at the conference so soon.

After the conference wrapped on Thursday afternoon, Mac made the drive to La Jolla. Frank suffered a medical scare a few weeks ago – a very minor heart attack – and Harm hadn't been able to make the trip to La Jolla to check in on them himself. Since she was going to be so close to La Jolla, Mac decided to stay until Saturday so she could spend time with Trish and Frank.

Mac hated the idea of being away from Caroline- and being on opposite sides of the country from her- for that long- but she couldn't pass up the opportunity to knock out all her CLE's in one go and she knew that by extending her trip a little longer to check in on Harm's parents, it would allow her and Harm to both put their minds at ease.

It had been a very long time since she was on a business trip – technically her last one would have been called a TAD and not a business trip anyways. For her last work-related trip, she was single and a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Marine Corps, but now she was a wife and mother and a civilian attorney. So much had changed, and getting on the plane to leave Dulles had been so much harder than she had imagined. She had an entirely new understanding of what Harm must feel like when he has to leave for a TAD.

Luckily, her one saving grace was that this current business trip had more flexibility than the military and she was able to call home every day to speak with Caroline and Harm.

"Is Mommy gonna be home soon?" Caroline asked, hopefully.

"Not until later this afternoon," Harm replied. "But we still have to get moving; there's a lot to do."

"We need to make a cake, and get balloons, and get flowers."

Last night, Caroline had asked him if they could have a welcome home party for Mac, and Harm readily agreed. It was her first solo trip in nearly six years, and he knew that being away was going to be difficult for her. A welcome home party planned by Caroline, would certainly make her homecoming even sweeter.

"I remember what we planned." He grinned.

"Oh, no! Daddy!" Caroline exclaimed suddenly. "I didn't make a card yet!"

"I'll tell you what, Itsy Bitsy. I'll make breakfast and see what we need to get at the store for the cake. If you get dressed and brush your teeth now, you should have plenty of time to make a card for Mommy before it is time to leave for the store."

Caroline nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, sir!" She saluted.

* * *

Many hours later, after a trip to the grocery store, the flower shop and detour to the craft store – Caroline had _insisted_ that Mac's card would not be complete without purple glitter – which of course was the _one _color of glitter that they did not have at home – Harm and Caroline found themselves in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on the cake.

"You're good at that, Daddy." Caroline commented after he finished frosting the two- layer round, yellow cake with chocolate frosting.

"Well," Harm began as he went to put the spatula in the sink and retrieve the sprinkles from the cupboard. "I may be okay at frosting a cake, but I can't do the sprinkles very well. You think you can do that job?" He knew she would love to be assigned that task.

Caroline's eyes lit up. "I would be _delighted_ to."

Harm chuckled at Caroline's vocabulary – it was expanding by leaps and bounds lately- and he handed her the container of sprinkles. He tried not to cringe as she removed the cap and spilled a good amount of them on the floor.

Caroline haphazardly shook the sprinkles all over the cake. She giggled delightfully and then pressed the sprinkles into the frosting with her fingers.

"Oh, Caroline, don't do that..." Harm began to correct her, but the sound of the door opening behind him captured all of Caroline's attention.

He and Caroline both turned around at the same time to see Mac entering the house from the garage. After carefully setting her suitcase and briefcase down on the floor by her feet, she looked up at them and smiled. Harm knew she must have been exhausted and jet-lagged, but she looked so incredibly beautiful that he just stared at her for a long moment.

"Mommy!"

Before he had a chance to stop her, Caroline scrambled out of her seat at the island and ran straight to her mother.

Mac quickly picked her up, "Oh, I missed you so much, honey. Sooooo much!" She hugged her close to her.

Caroline reached out with both hands – one of them covered in chocolate – and touched her mother's face. "I missed YOU, Mommy!"

By now, Harm was next to them armed with a wet paper towel to clean Caroline's hands off. Miraculously, there was only one smudge of chocolate on the corner of Mac's chin, just below her bottom lip. After cleaning Caroline's hands, he said, "Your turn, Marine." Only instead of using the paper towel to remove the chocolate, he leaned over and kissed it away. "Welcome home, Counselor."

"It's good to be home, Sailor."

"Mommy! Mommy! Look!" Caroline began excitedly. "We made a party for you!"

"Oh, you did, huh?" Mac surveyed the room.

There were at least a dozen of balloons floating in the kitchen, a vase filled with tulips in assorted colors and a cake on the island. There was also a card that Caroline made propped up in front of the flower vase. "Oh, wow," was all Mac could say.

"Do you like it?"

"Like it? I love it, sweetheart!"

Harm smiled. "Well, Mac, it was all Caroline's idea," he praised. "She picked out the balloons, the cake, the flowers...all of it."

Mac brought her gaze down to her daughter's face. "You did all this?"

"I did!" Caroline nodded, proudly. "But Daddy was a good helper, too!"

Mac laughed. "I'm sure he was."

"And I'm just a kid. I can't drive or have money, so he took me to the store and bought everything, too," she added.

"Hey, now," Harm started as he reached over and tickled Caroline's belly. "Is that all I am to you? Someone to drive you around and give you money?" he teased.

"No!" she replied between laughs. "You're the bestest Daddy in the whole wide world." Then she turned to Mac and gave her a sloppy kiss on her cheek. "And you're the bestest Mommy."

Caroline spoke again as Mac moved her from one hip to the other. "Can we have cake now, Daddy?" she asked. "I know we didn't eat dinner, yet, but Mommy is home! It's a party! Pretty please with a cherry on top?" She folded her hands and placed them under chin.

"Yeah, Daddy," Mac chimed in. "Can we have cake now?" She batted her eyelashes a few times just for good measure.

Harm sighed, pretending to think about it. It was all just for show – there was no way he could say no to them, and they knew it. "Well, I suppose. It _is_ a party after all. We can have cake now."

"This is the best day ever!" Caroline declared as she clapped her hands and dangled her feet signaling to her mother she was ready to be put down now. "Come on, Daddy," she said as she tugged Harm's hand. "We have to cut the cake now."

Mac sighed contently as she leaned against the countertop and watched two of her favorite people in the world begin to cut the cake. She smiled to herself and filed the memory away for the years to come. Like Harm, there was something about the simple, every day moments of life that loved the most, too.


	3. Chapter 3

Rabb Residence  
June 2011

"Mommy! Daddy! I'm awake, I'm awake!"

Slowly, Caroline's voice began to register in the minds of her sleeping parents followed by a few soft knocks on the door.

"What time is it?" Harm mumbled - his voice muffled by his pillow.

"0328," Mac replied as she sat up and turned on the lamp on her nightstand. "You decent?" She surveyed them both to make sure they were dressed – they had been exhausted after a very thorough night of making love and she couldn't remember if they both managed to put on their pajamas before they fell asleep or not.

"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled again as he rolled over to face the door.

"Come in, sweetheart," Mac called out to Caroline.

Caroline pushed open the door to her parents' room and declared, "It's Sunday!" Then, she frowned when she realized her parents were still in bed. As she stepped further into the room, her parents got a better look at what she was wearing. She had on her bathing suit, a sunhat, a pair of sunglasses and hot pink sandals.

"Why are you up so early and why are you dressed like that?" Harm asked.

Caroline walked over to the bed and Mac lifted her up and placed her between the two of them. Then, she reached over and removed Caroline's sunhat and sunglasses and placed them on the nightstand for the time being.

"I need those for the beach!" She pouted. "We're supposed to go to the beach today with Nana and Papa but you and Daddy are still sleeping." Caroline crossed her arms. She was obviously frustrated by the fact that her parents weren't ready for the beach.

"Itsy-Bitsy," Harm began gently, "we still have a long time before we get to the beach today."

"Daddy, you said when you tucked me in that when I woke up it would be Sunday and we were going to see Nana and Papa and go to the beach. I'm awake now!" She exclaimed.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I probably should have explained that better last night. Nana and Papa usually come here to see us, right?" He began, trying to explain the situation better to her.

Caroline nodded.

"Well, this time we are going to go to California to see them at their house. The beach is in their backyard!"

"Oh, wow! Have I been to Nana and Papa's house before? Is California far away?" She asked.

Before Caroline was born, Harm and Mac would try to fly out to La Jolla whenever they had a chance to get away so they could visit his parents. Usually it would happen two or three times a year when Harm could secure a few consecutive days of leave. However, once Caroline was born, it became too hard for them to make an international trip with an infant on a regular basis. That was when Trish and Frank told them it would be easier for the two of them to visit them wherever they were stationed. In fact, the last time Harm, Mac, Caroline and Mattie were all in La Jolla together was just after Caroline turned one year old.

Harm nodded. "You were just an itsy-bitsy baby, the last time you were at their house. And yes, California is so far away that we have to take an airplane to get there!"

"WHAT?!" Caroline screamed. "I GET TO FLY IN A PLANE? THIS IS GONNA BE THE BESTEST DAY EVER!"

Harm nodded, his classic flyboy grin in place. He knew that his little aspiring aviator was going to be very excited about their method of transportation, and he and Mac decided to wait to tell her until the day they were going to leave for their trip. If they told her any sooner, the excitement and anticipation would have been too much for her to cope with.

She had flown several times in her lifetime, but this was the first time she would actually remember it, and if you were to ask Mac, she would say that Harm was probably just as excited about that as Caroline was.

"Are you gonna fly us there in "Sarah?" Or are we gonna fly in the planes you take when you go faraway for work?" She wondered.

Harm shook his head. "We're going to fly in a commercial airplane, and I don't fly those. I'm not sure what type of aircraft it will be, yet. It just depends on what the company is going to use. There are a couple different types of planes that it might be."

"Will you show me pictures in one of your airplane books?" she asked.

"Of course!" He said before he reached over and tickled her.

"So, when are we leaving?" Caroline asked after her giggles subsided. "Now?" she asked hopefully.

"No, not for a few hours." Mac answered as she combed her fingers through Caroline's hair. "But something tells me, I'm going to have to spend some of that time repacking your suitcase, huh?" Mac was beginning to think they should have loaded the suitcases into the SUV last night after all.

"Sorry, Mommy," Caroline said sheepishly. "I wanted to get ready for the beach and my beach stuff wasn't in my closet. It took _forever _until I found it in my suitcase."

"You're going to help me put everything back, young lady."

"I will, Mommy. Promise."

Mac leaned over to kiss her cheek. "That's my girl. Let's close our eyes and sleep for a little bit longer first, okay? We have a very busy day ahead of us."

"But, I'm excited. I'm not tired." Caroline said with a yawn.

Mac reached over to turn off the lamp and then wrapped her arms around Caroline. "Just try, sweetheart."

The Rabb family got a few more hours of sleep before it was time to actually start their day. Caroline and Mac repacked her suitcase and Caroline (reluctantly) agreed with her mother that a bathing suit wasn't appropriate flight attire. She settled on a gray romper with ruffled sleeves and a little bow at the waist. She had also insisted on wearing the green flight jacket that her daddy got her from the gift shop at the Air and Space Museum. Her aviator style sunglasses completed her ensemble and she was more than ready to fly in an airplane – even if she was a little disappointed that her daddy wasn't going to fly the plane himself.

The whole day was a grand adventure for Caroline. She loved every single moment of their nonstop flight and the aviation picture books she got to bring with her for entertainment. She asked Harm countless questions, and he happily answered each and every one. He was so enthralled with his daughter's excitement that he almost forgot how uncomfortable and cramped he felt on commercial airliners. Mac had been a little nervous that Caroline would be scared of the take-off and landing, but she was a Rabb through and through and that was her favorite part – even the patch of turbulence they hit didn't faze her. Harm couldn't wait to take her flying himself.

Regardless of her early start, exciting day, and the time change, Caroline was still running on adrenaline. It was 7:30PM local time and she was chatting happily with her grandparents. They were sitting on the beach making sand castles and everyone's laughter filtered through the air.

Mac was standing on the second-floor balcony watching the scene below when Harm came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Hey," he greeted.

She smiled at their familiar exchange. "Hey, yourself," she replied.

"I can't believe she didn't fall asleep yet," Harm commented as he nodded towards Caroline.

"Me, either. This time change is going to hit her hard tomorrow."

"It definitely will," Harm agreed. "She's having a great time, though."

"She loved flying."

Harm grinned. "Was there ever any doubt?"

Mac chuckled. "Nah, she takes after her father. You can't wait to take her flying in "Sarah;" I can tell."

"I am looking forward to it," he admitted.

"She's going to love it," Mac said.

"I am itching to fly "Sarah" after that flight, though," he commented.

"I could tell you still get restless on commercial flights...and I could tell that you were trying to think of ways for us to be able to get a private plane so you can fly us across the country yourself."

He pretended to be surprised, but he knew she could read him like a book. "Now, how could you possibly have known that?"

She smiled sweetly. "Because you're my partner, my best friend, and my husband. I know how you think."

"Well, let's just say it was a little cramped. I could fly "Sarah" or a Tomcat for five hours without any problem, but being crammed like a sardine in business class of a commercial airliner with a bunch of strangers is not really my ideal way to fly."

"Maybe we'll win the lottery someday," she humored him.

"It would be nice," he laughed.

"Besides," she continued, "you also have control issues. Caroline may not have noticed your mood change the slightest bit when we hit that patch of turbulence, but I did."

"I wasn't scared, Mac, if that's what you are implying." He replied, his tone light. He wasn't entirely sure what she meant by her comment.

"I just mean that I could tell you wanted to be in the cockpit because you wanted to know firsthand everything that was happening."

"Guilty as charged," he admitted. "Sorry. Doctors make the worst patients, lawyers make the worst clients, and aviators make the worst passengers. It is the way of the universe."

She smiled softly. "Don't be sorry, it's who you are."

They stood in a comfortable silence for a few moments and watched Caroline work on her sandcastle. They could hear Frank singing "Sweet Caroline" to her and she was amused – Caroline hung on Frank's every word and had a little Rabb grin of her own on her face. She was catching on to the lyrics quickly and the "bum, bum, bum" where the trumpet blasts would sound seemed to be her favorite part. She would laugh hysterically and say "again, again!"

"Do you ever wonder what life would be like if you would have won the coin toss?" Harm asked suddenly.

Mac spun around in his arms so that she was facing him. "Where is this coming from?" She draped her arms around his neck and stared into his eyes. "Harm?" He didn't reply soon enough for her, and she continued. "Did you _not_ want the coin to land in your favor? Do you resent the fact that I stopped the coin before it landed in the first place? Do you have regrets over how we began our life as a couple?" Her fingers ghosted the base of his neck gently as she spoke.

"No!" He said quickly to stop her rambling. "Never. I could never have any regrets about us – London, San Diego, wherever we went didn't matter as long as we were together..."

"But..." She prompted.

"We could have spent a lot of time here with Mom and Frank if we were in San Diego. You'd probably still be heading up that command now at the rank of full colonel or even brigadier general...Caroline would be able to spend a lot more time with her grandparents..."

"You don't know that, Harm," she said softly. "I don't like the what if game. Who knows if Caroline would even _be_ Caroline if we came to San Diego...with the stress of the command, I may never have even been able to get pregnant. I may have been an awful leader and have been sent to some obscure duty station after my assignment in San Diego for all we know."

"Hey, now, you would have been an excellent leader, Mac."

She shrugged, "Maybe, maybe not." She leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips. "I never once regretted stopping that coin, Harm. In fact, I think it was one of the best things I have ever done. Do you want to know what I think is bringing up all these what ifs?"

"What?" He asked curiously.

"Once Mattie gets here tomorrow, this is the first time we have all been together in La Jolla in years. A lot has changed since then. We're getting older, and your parents are getting older. I think you feel like you should have spent more time with them over the years." Her voice was gentle, and she waited for his reaction.

Harm took a deep breath and let it out slowly before he replied. "I wasn't the best son to them…that's what I regret in life, Mac. I should have been there more for them over the years."

"You didn't up and leave them, Harm. You had an obligation to the Navy...that is what happens when you join the military. You know that and they know that."

"That may be true, but it doesn't make up for how I treated Frank when he and Mom first got together. I was awful for a really long time. I failed them as a son."

"I better never hear you say that again. You did not fail them as a son," she said firmly. "And you can't change the past, Harm." He nodded slowly and he held her gaze. Then the corners of his mouth turned upwards and he got a mischievous glimmer in his eyes as he looked at Trish, Frank and Caroline on the beach. "What are you thinking about?" She wondered.

"Come with me." He tugged her hand and pulled her through the French doors and into the bedroom they were staying in. He didn't stop in the bedroom, though, and soon they were in the hallway near the stairs.

"Harm! Slow down! Where are we going?" She couldn't help the giggle she let escape as they ran down the stairs. He stopped abruptly at the bottom of the stairs – a movement she wasn't anticipating – and she literally ran right into him. The action caused her giggle to turn into laughter as they fell against the wall. As usual, though, Harm's aviator quick reflexes kept them from falling to the ground. "What is going on?"

"When I was a kid," he began to explain, "Frank always tried to get me to build sandcastles with him, and I never wanted anything to do with it. I was getting older and told him it was lame. I knew it seemed important to him, and that only fueled the fire more for me to never build one with him. It was a part of his life that he wanted to share with me, and I wouldn't let him. You said it yourself, Mac. I can't change the past, but I can make those memories with him _now_. I am going to go build a sandcastle with my step-dad. It's over thirty-five years later than I should have, but I'm going to do it."

"Good for you," she smiled. "That's going to mean a lot to him."

"Would you like to join us?" He asked.

"Well," Mac hesitated for a moment. "Do you want me to?" She could tell this was an important bonding moment for Harm and Frank and she didn't want to overstep.

He looked at her like she had three heads. "Of course, Mac!" He exclaimed. "Always." He reminded her. "I always want you there, Mac."

"I never made a sandcastle ever before..." she admitted.

"Never?" He repeated, surprised.

She shook her head. "Nope."

"Well, all the more reason for you to join us. Frank used to win first place in sandcastle building contests. He's going to be an excellent teacher. Let's go, Mac!" He exclaimed as he pulled her towards the doors that led out to the deck.

Mac paused for a moment to study his appearance. He looked so happy and carefree and she loved when he got to experience moments like that. He deserved it so much.

"Hurry, up, Marine." He said when she wasn't moving fast enough for him and let go of her hand. "Memories are waiting to be made." He called as he ran the remaining distance from the house to where everyone else was on the beach.

"I'm coming!" She laughed as she sprinted to catch up with him as quickly as she could.

When it came to making more memories with her family, she didn't want to waste a single second. Life was too precious and too short to _not_ move forward day by day and moment by moment.


	4. Chapter 4

Special shout out to the guest reviewer who mentioned writing something from Frank's POV. You sparked my muse!

* * *

Burnett Residence  
June 2011  
Frank's POV

"Oh, Papa. This is so much fun! This is the bestest day of my whole entire life."

I smile widely at the little ball of energy and I wonder if she has any idea how much joy she brings to our lives. I can hear my wife laugh softly at Caroline's tone which is both dramatic and excited.

"Is that so?" I ask the beautiful blonde-haired girl who has her father's smile and her grandmother's eyes.

Caroline nods, her little pigtails blowing in the breeze as she does so.

"And why is this the best day of your entire life?" Trish asks, playing along.

Caroline looks at her grandmother and furrows her brows. Caroline may resemble her Grandma Trish, and have the Rabb family smile but that look she makes when she ponders a question that she feels should have an obvious answer is all her mother. It is a look I have seen Mac give Harm a handful of times over the years.

"Well, first I got to fly in a plane. Then, I got to see you. And now I get to make sandcastles in your backyard which is THE BEACH! Oh! And I got to have ice cream and learn a new song."

"That does sound like an excellent day," Trish replies. "Doesn't it, Papa?"

I nod. "Those are the best kinds of days, Munchkin. Nana and I love when we get to see you. We love you so much."

"This much?" she asks as she spreads her arms out as far as she can. Her exaggerated movements almost cause the sandcastle she has been working on to topple over.

"Even more," Trish says without missing a beat.

Caroline's eyes grow wide and I get the impression that she is remembering something. "Even more than Daddy loves airplanes? Cause Daddy told me that he loves me and Mommy more than he loves airplanes and Daddy loves airplanes a lot. He knows everything about them! But he knows everything about Mommy, too. He knows all her favorite things!"

Trish and I can't stop our chuckles from escaping. "Even more than your daddy loves airplanes," I confirm.

"Oh, wow. That's so much." It only takes a moment for Caroline to shift the conversation. "Sing that song, please!"

On the way home from the airport, we caught the last few measures of "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond playing on the radio. It's a catchy song to begin with, but with Caroline here, the song had a way of getting stuck in my head, and I've been singing it to her off and on since we returned to the house. Caroline is a quick learner and has been able to memorize the words fairly quickly. She seems to be mesmerized by hearing her name in the lyrics as I sing the song. I can tell that when she imitates the trumpet blasts by singing – or more accurately – shouting the "bum, bum, bum," is her favorite part of the entire song.

"Again, again!" She requests after I finish singing.

"Okay, okay," I agree with a chuckle. "One more time," I say before I begin singing the refrain again.

"You're good at making sandcastles, Papa." She says after I finish singing. She's focusing intently on the sandcastles that I have been working on since we came out here nearly an hour ago.

I smiled. "Thanks, Munchkin. That means a lot."

"Your papa used to make sandcastles all the time," Trish offers. "Sometimes he would enter contests and get ribbons for all his hard work."

"Like the ribbons Daddy has on his uniform for flying?" She wonders.

"Something like that," I reply.

"Did you make sandcastles with Daddy?"

I pause for a moment and glance back towards the house. Harm and Mac are standing on the balcony. For a brief second, I wonder what they could possibly be discussing that has them both wearing such serious expressions on their faces, but then I remind myself it is none of my business. It's just something about the way that they are talking that piques my interest. They are talking in a way that is so uniquely them...where they look at each other like they are the only two people in the world and everything else just melts away.

I look down at the sandcastle I am working on for a moment, and I let myself ponder their relationship. I never met Mac until after she and Harm were already engaged, but as soon as I did meet her, I knew she was the one my stepson was destined to be with. He talked about Mac often over the years that they worked together, and I always wondered if they would ever be more than friends, but unlike his mother, I never asked. It wasn't my place to pry, and I didn't think Harm would disclose that type of information to me. We were never particularly close over the years. Although, things did get a lot less strained after he discovered his father's fate in Russia...I think he needed that closure, and I can't fault him for that. I probably would have felt the same way if I was in his position.

"Did you?" Caroline asks again, and I suddenly realize that I never answered her question.

"No, your dad and I never made sandcastles together."

Caroline frowns. "Why?"

I glance at Trish, and silently ask for help. I know that a vague "I don't know why, Caroline" won't suffice. Little kids don't like that answer in general, but Caroline is the child of two attorneys...she would keep asking until she got a "real" answer -an answer that I don't know how to give. Obviously, I know why Harm never wanted to build a sandcastle with me, but there is no possible way that I would even know how to begin to explain that to Caroline or if that is even my place.

"Because I was very stubborn, Itsy-Bitsy." I snap my head around when I hear that it was Harm himself who came to my rescue. He's still about ten feet or so away from us, but he was obviously able to hear Caroline's question.

"Why?" she asks again, a frown still evident on her features.

Harm sighs and sits down next to me and Caroline and Caroline crawls over to sit on his lap. By now, Mac has reached us, too, and she is sitting a few feet away next to Trish. "Well," he begins slowly. "Papa always asked me to, but I never would say yes. And before you ask why again..."

"Hey!" She interrupts. "How did you know that I was gonna ask why?"

They both flash their matching smiles at the same time, and Harm taps her nose with his pointer finger. "Because a dad just knows things like that!" He tells her.

She laughs. "Okay, Daddy. But why?"

I'm not sure if she is asking why Harm didn't build sandcastles with me or if she is asking why a dad just knows things like that.

"Here's the thing, Itsy-Bitsy," he starts again. "I never wanted to learn to make sandcastles with Papa, because when I was little, I thought that it would mean I didn't love airplanes as much. Luckily, I'm smarter now, and I know that I can love sandcastles and airplanes both. I've known that for a while, actually, and I should have told Papa sooner. Papa and I should have made sandcastles together a long time ago."

He is looking at me now, and I can see the sincerity in his eyes. I admire the way he answered Caroline's question so honestly. He told her the truth – in terms that she would understand – and still managed to say so much more to _me_. This isn't for show either – it's not some brilliant move that a lawyer would make to argue a case. No, that's not it at all. This is raw, honest and sincere. This is who he is as a person and not an act.

"So, what do you say, Frank?" Harm asks. "I know it's thirty-five years delayed, but timing has never been my strong suit; just ask Mac." He gives her a sheepish smile followed by a wink. "Can we build a sandcastle together? We can talk more later..." he adds.

"I would love to, son," I reply before he feels the need to say anything else.

This means more to me than if Harm were to suddenly call me "dad." A friend asked me once if it bothered me that Harm didn't call me "dad" even though I raised him a majority of his life. I said it absolutely did not bother me. Harm had an amazing father for six years of his life – a true American hero, too- and I would never try to make it seem as if I was trying to replace Harm Sr. I just wanted to make my own memories with Harm over the years.

All I ever wanted was for Harm to know that no matter what, I would always love him like a son. He knows that; I am sure of it.

"Well," Harm draws out the word as he speaks again, "I do have one request though..."

"And what may that be?" I wonder.

"That Mac can join us, too. She's never made a sandcastle before..."

"It would be an honor to have Mac join us," I smile. He loves her so much, and I can tell that it makes him a little sad that his wife has never made a sandcastle before. "Okay, Caroline, are you ready to be my helper?"

She nods happily. "I'm a good helper!"

I motion for Mac and Trish to move closer. "You, me, and Nana are going to teach your mommy and daddy how to make the biggest sandcastle _ever_."

She claps her hands together. "I'm ready!"

"Okay, so what is the first thing we have to do?" I ask, wondering if she remembers what I told her earlier.

"We mix the sand real good with water in _this_ bucket," she answers as she lifts the large, yellow bucket up. "Then we scoop it out with our hands and make towers!"

"Well, let's get to work then!"

I can tell that Harm regrets not building sandcastles with me when he was a teenager, but the past is past. I for one am glad that we get to do this now – with his daughter and his wife, too – it will make the memory all that much sweeter for me and Trish.


	5. Chapter 5

Rabb Residence  
2011

Sarah MacKenzie Rabb was a retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel, a wife, a mother and an attorney. She was strong, smart, independent and resourceful. She _should _have been able to handle this. Harm said he would get to this project this weekend, but she was impatient and thought she could do it on her own. She didn't think it would turn into such a disaster. "Ugh, damn it. You son of a..." she mumbled as the wrench slipped out of her right hand.

"You didn't," her husband stated as he entered the kitchen and stared at the scene in front of him. The kitchen was an absolute mess. He moved closer to the kitchen sink and tried not to step in any water that was spilled about. He also had to dodge his toolbox and several other random pieces of equipment that Mac most definitely did not need to fix the leaky faucet. In fact, they decided to get a whole new faucet altogether and he was going to replace the old one with the new one this weekend. He truly didn't know why Mac had start it tonight and especially why she had to start before he even got home from work.

His voice startled her, and she jumped – almost hitting her head against the pipe under the sink as she dropped the flashlight she was holding in her left hand and wiped her hands against her faded jeans. "Oh, I did...I so very much did," Mac replied somewhat dejectedly, but still unwilling to admit defeat, as she crawled out from under the sink and looked up at him with her big brown eyes.

"Maaac," Harm sighed as he shook his head.

She could tell he was annoyed with her. "I'm sorry," she apologized.

"Let me go change. I'll be right back," he said as began unbuttoning the buttons on his uniform.

"I really thought I could do it myself." She added.

"I'll be right back," he repeated as he made his was up to their bedroom.

Less than ten minutes later, Harm returned. He was wearing his usual casual home attire of faded blue jeans and a black t-shirt. Mac couldn't help that her tongue darted out to moisten her lips when she saw him. "Hi," she said dreamily. Sometimes, she forgot that he was going to be fifty in a few short years. He looked _good. _

His chest puffed out a little bit at her reaction – it definitely managed to stroke his ego a bit whether or not that was her intent. "Hi, Mac," he chuckled as he kneeled down to sit beside her on the floor. "Let's see what's going on here." He laid down so he could look at the plumbing, and Mac shifted her position to her side so she could hold the flashlight up for him.

"You're mad at me." She began.

"What? No."

"Sure, you are. You said you would change the faucet this weekend, but I just couldn't wait. I thought since I got home early and Caroline was going to be with Harriet for a few more hours, I could just replace the faucet myself and the whole thing would be finished before you even got home."

"I'm not mad," he assured her. "Maybe just frustrated. I was going to swap them out tomorrow morning. Really, Mac."

Mac bit her cheek, not sure what else to say at the moment.

"You know," he began as he picked up a wrench and began tightening the pipes. "It has been a honeymoon of sorts for us lately."

Mac thought back to that time on the Watertown when a similar remark was made and he said "this wasn't a marriage." Other than the time he "sandbagged" her in court when they opposed each other for the first time, that was the first time they really fought with each other. Mac pushed those memories away for the moment, and began to realize that Harm did have a point. Ever since they found their footing again after losing Audrey, they really hadn't fought, or argued, or disagreed. It was surreal in a way. For two people who used to bicker and go up against each other as opposing counsel for years, that must have been some kind of record.

Harm continued. "It's funny, actually. We used to argue with each other all the time...over strategies when we were co-counsel and over guilt and innocence and sentencing recommendations when we were opposing counsel. We don't get to do that anymore, and I miss it."

Mac was amused. "Are you saying we should fight more?" She wondered. "Because if you are, I think you're possibly the only man in the whole entire world who would say that to his _wife. _Most men would be afraid of being exiled to the couch for such a comment._"_

"You aren't just my wife," he reminded her. "You're my partner, too. Always. And, for the record, you won't exile me to the couch," he said rather confidently.

"Oh, really? And why is that?"

"Because I'm too tall for the couch," he said matter-of-factly. "You'd exile me to the guest room. You aren't heartless."

She chuckled and splashed some water from the small puddle beside her at him. "You're something else, Flyboy."

He grinned. "Right back at you, Ninja Girl."

"So, you really miss our bickering over cases?" she asked.

"Yeah, I do," he tilted his head to make eye contact with her.

"I miss it, too," she admitted it. "So, what do we do to fix that? Mark it on the calendar? Pencil it in somewhere between work dinners and taking Caroline to gymnastics?" She suggested.

"What? No. Absolutely not!" He seemed mortified by the suggestion. "That would be as bad as penciling in on the calendar when we're going to make love! We're two very passionate people; because of that, our arguing is passionate in its own way. Like sex, it should be spontaneous. It's better that way."

He wasn't wrong, Mac thought. They _were _two very passionate people and their sex life was pretty spectacular. They had to plan their intimate moments very precisely while they were doing fertility treatments when they were newlyweds, and while it had not been bad by any means, it definitely had not been as wonderful as it was when it happened spontaneously. Which happed quite frequently these days, she would admit. They really weren't lacking in that department. "Well," she drew out the word, seductively. "I do like spontaneity."

"That makes two of us."

"So, every now and then I should just pick an argument with you?"

"Yeah, or I can pick an argument with you..."

"We're insane."

"Maybe just a little," he agreed, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "Well, look at that. All fixed."

He slid out from under the sink and then, always the gentleman, extended his hand to help Mac up. "You made that look easy." She said as she stood to her feet.

"I just have to ask, Mac, it really looked like you were on the right track. How did the little flood happen?" He gestured to the puddles on the floor.

She sighed. "Well, I read the instructions, and looked up a tutorial on the internet before I started. I really thought I would have everything under control. I made sure all the pieces were there and that I had all the right tools."

"You had too many, tools, Mac." He teased. "You really didn't need the power drill."

Busted, she thought. "I just wanted to be prepared for everything!" She offered – she was a Marine at heart after all.

"Everything except the small flood?" He asked, an eyebrow raised as high as it could go. She didn't have any old car towels out ready to dry up the mess.

"Well, you see...I shut the water valve off, disconnected the old faucet, installed the new one, and turned the water valve back on. It was so easy, but it was too good to be true. Somehow, I managed to mix up the hot and cold water lines and they were opposite. Easy fix, right? Well, I guess I was in a hurry, and I forgot to shut the water valve off when I went to switch them. There was water everywhere!"

He couldn't help it – he had to laugh. "Rookie mistake, Marine."

She glared at him. "I know," she admitted with a sigh. "By the time I got the valve turned off, everything was all wet and slippery and I couldn't get it to go back together completely when I made sure the lines were the right way."

"Well, Mac, you're a woman of many talents...plumbing just isn't one of them." He crossed his arms and cocked his head to the side. "You can't be good at everything."

The front door opened and they could hear Harriet's voice. "Hello, it's just us."

"Mommy! Daddy! I missed you! Where are you?"

"I think they are in the kitchen," Harriet told the child.

Caroline ran to the kitchen and Harm took a few steps forward to scoop her up into his arms. "Careful, Itsy-BItsy. Mommy made a mess!" He said as he lifted Caroline into the air a few times and spun her around. "A complete mess! Look at all that water!"

Caroline laughed and then said, "We're supposed to clean our messes, Mommy."

"Yeah, Mommy," Harm agreed. "Those are the rules."

"Were you taking a bath in the sink, Mommy?" Caroline asked, wide-eyed.

Harm, Mac and Harriet laughed at the comment. "Why would you think that?" Mac asked.

"Cause I get water all over the bathroom floor if I splash in the bathtub. So, if you took a bath in the sink and splashed, that's a no-no. No splashing cause the water has to stay INSIDE the tub and not on the floor. Daddy said so," Caroline said – happy with herself that she remembered the bath time rules. "So, the rules would be the same for the sink. Right, Daddy?"

"The bathtub rules would apply to the sink," Harm determined.

"But I was _not_ taking a bath in the sink!" Mac pointed out.

"Your clothes are wet!" Caroline added.

"She has a point, Mac..."

"You're such an instigator! That's circumstantial evidence."

"I'm merely encouraging her critical thinking process!"

"You can't wear clothes in the bath, either," Caroline then added.

"Yeah, Mommy," Harm continued. "_No_ clothes in the bath." He waggled his eyebrows at her.

"Are you _trying_ to get exiled to the guest room?" This time, she raised an eyebrow. She couldn't tell if he was trying to pick an argument or make a move on her as soon as Caroline went to bed that evening. He really was a difficult man to read sometimes – even after all these years.

He smirked. "Didn't we just agree to argue more?"

"Argue more?" Harriet chimed in. "What are you two talking about?"

Mac chuckled. "If you have a minute, you can come with me to gather the car towels and I can tell you all about it..."

Mac knew without a shadow of a doubt, that life with Harmon Rabb would never be boring.


	6. Chapter 6

I'm super stressed (and still angry over the cheap, cop out writing) about Harm and Mac appearing in NCIS LA Sunday, so this was my distraction. From the interviews I've read, I have no hope for a satisfactory ending for them and I am so gutted. If anyone has any suggestions on how I can forget that storyline ever happened, please let me know! I need to live in denial about it...writing a chapter for this story before my muse will most likely be MIA for awhile seemed appropriate.

Trying something a little different this time… this one takes place BEFORE Caroline was born. Potentially, a few more of these may appear at some point…

* * *

Rabb Residence  
London  
2006

"Harm… Harm," Mac whispered. "Are you awake?"

Silence.

"Ha-arm,"she tried again, this time a little louder.

It didn't do any good, and her husband was still in a deep sleep. Sighing, she nudged him so he rolled to lay on his back, but he still didn't wake up. Being a woman of action, she crawled over to straddle him and began to kiss him, placing her palms flat against his chest.

Slowly, his eyes fluttered open. "Hi, Mac," he said with a sleepy, silly smile. "Something I can help you with there, Marine?" His hands came to rest just above her hips.

His wife was just over twenty-four weeks pregnant and pretty much insatiable these days. She couldn't seem to get enough of him, and he was more than ready and willing to help her any way he could. It was a far cry from the morning sickness and emotional rollercoaster that plagued most of her first trimester. No matter how hard he tried to make her comfortable, he never was able to do anything right. She even took issue with the way he hung his uniform in the closet (which was the same way he had hung it in the closet for their entire marriage…) and he also ended up having to brew his coffee at the office because the smell of his "squid brew" bothered her too much. Then there was also the day when he was getting ready for work and she followed him into the bathroom to tell him that he was brushing his teeth "too loudly."

However, as soon as she rolled into her second trimester, things took a significant turn. Her morning sickness had subsided and her mood improved immensely. She was still an emotional rollercoaster - which for the stoic Marine was hard for her to deal with at times- but Harm had always been her rock. She knew they always had a connection to each other, but the pregnancy magnified that even more. She never felt closer to him, and she even found herself becoming a blubbering mess when he'd leave for work in the morning. The fact that they beat the odds and there was a child growing inside of her that was a part of each of them overwhelmed her in the most beautiful way.

"Mmhm." She smiled sweetly, batting her eyelashes. His hands wandered along on her arms and he kissed her. "But not this," she said after they separated from the kiss.

His furrowed his brows in confusion.

"I have a craving…"

"Okay?"

She took a deep breath and couldn't believe she was actually going to the next sentence. "For your meatless meatloaf."

That caught Harm's attention and he sat up so quickly that the momentum caused Mac to tumble off of him and land backwards against the mattress with a little bounce.

"Mac!" He exclaimed, immediately concerned. "Are you alright?" He scrambled to help her sit back up.

Her laughter was like a beautiful song and once he was satisfied that she was in fact okay, he smiled.

"Yes, I'm fine." She finally said in between laughs and giggles.

"What about you, Itsy Bitsy?" He asked as he slipped his hand under her t-shirt and gently rubbed the growing baby bump. "Are you okay, too? Give Daddy a little sign," he pleaded with the baby. "Please."

Mac placed her hands over his. She had been in the quickening stages of pregnancy for awhile now and could feel the tiny little flutter-like kicks of their baby. The kicks were small and fleeting and not yet strong enough for Harm to feel, too. "We're both okay," she assured him.

He maneuvered himself with a soft sigh and placed a gentle kiss on her belly. "It's okay, Itsy-Bitsy," he said. "I know you'll do it in your own time. I'm just a little anxious to feel you move." He kissed her belly once again and then slide up to kiss her forehead. "You really want meatless meatloaf?"

Mac nodded.

"I never thought I'd see the day. You did tell me that it should be taken out with the toxic waste materials on the submarine ..."

"I can't really believe it myself," Mac admitted with a shrug. "But, after all, this baby is part of you," she rubbed her belly and smiled.

"Well, I for one, am not going to question it. Maybe Itsy-Bitsy will get you to change your eating habits…"

"The jury is still out on that one," Mac winked. "Do we have everything on hand for you to make it?" She wondered.

Harm got out of bed and walked towards the bedroom door. "I think we should have enough on hand to make some version of meatless meatloaf." He always felt it was important to have a fully stocked kitchen, which proved to be very beneficial for life with Mac in general, and not just to satisfy her pregnancy cravings.

"Wait for me," Mac called after him. "I'm coming with you."

The two of them walked to the kitchen and Mac flipped on the lights. "What can I do to help?" she asked.

"Absolutely nothing," he said as he ushered her to a chair at the breakfast bar. "Just sit."

"You're making me meatless meatloaf at 0100 hours….I can help." She argued.

"Mac," he warned.

"At least let me chop the vegetables?"

"Okay," he finally agreed, knowing he had to pick and choose his battles with the pregnant Marine. He walked over to the refrigerator and began taking out carrots, onions, and peppers. He brought them over to the breakfast bar after he washed them. Then he retrieved a cutting board, mixing bowl, and knife for Mac. "Have at it "

"Thanks."

As Mac prepared the vegetables, Harm gathered the spices and beans from the pantry. After all of his ingredients were mixed in a large bowl, he grabbed another cutting board and knife and began to help Mac finish chopping the vegetables. Then, he mixed everything together, shaped the loaf, and put it in the preheated oven to cook.

It took forty-five minutes for the meatless meatloaf to bake, and while it did, the couple found themselves curled up on the couch together and talking about anything and everything. Married life seemed to suit them well so far and they made leaps and bounds with each other when it came to communication. Mac was pretty sure this was the best relationship she had ever been in..._this_ was what real love was. When they were honest with each other and no longer hiding behind cryptic conversations that always implied more, or the rules and regulations of military life, things just clicked for them and everything seemed so simple after all.

Sometimes, in these beautiful, domestic moments, she would be brought back to that night in Paraguay when she told him things would never work out. If only she would have tabled that conversation until they got back like he had asked, if only she would have realized it was the PTSD talking, if only Harm would have been able to say the words she so desperately needed to hear...

_If only..._

The timer on the oven rang out, and the two made their way back into the kitchen.

"It smells delicious!" Mac exclaimed as Harm opened the oven.

He raised an eyebrow, still not believing that his wife requested this meal to satisfy a pregnancy craving. He quickly prepared the "meatloaf" to be cut and in a few minutes, a plate had been prepared for Mac. She smiled as she picked up her fork to take a bite.

However, her expression changed as soon as she began to chew and her smile was long gone. She forced herself to finished chewing and to swallow the food, but no sooner than she swallowed it, did she have to rush to the bathroom.

Harm was quick to follow her and kneeled beside her as she leaned over the toilet emptying the contents of her stomach. He ran his hand soothingly along her back and then went to retrieve a damp washcloth for her. "Here you go," he said softly has he pressed it to the back of her neck.

A minute or so later, when she was sure she was done being sick, she turned to face him. "I'm really, really sorry," she apologized.

He shook his head, dismissing her apology. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Mac."

"Yes, I do," she cried. "I woke you up in the middle of the night to make meatless meatloaf...a food that I never even liked before because I had such a craving for it and then, then," she sniffled before she started to cry again. "I couldn't even eat it because it made me sick and I hated it has much as I hated it the first time you made it for me. I'm sorry."

"Mac," he chuckled as he shifted to wrap an arm around her shoulders. "It's okay, really."

"I don't know why I had a craving for it, or why I couldn't eat it when I specifically asked for it…" she rambled.

"Don't worry about that, Mac," he began as he attempted to stand up. "Let's just get you back into bed. Unless you want something else to eat?"

She shook her head. "No, I don't have an appetite, but I don't want to get up just yet. Can we sit here for a minute?"

"Are you sure you're comfortable enough?" The two of them were sitting on the hard ceramic floor of the bathroom, propped up against the wall and sandwiched in the small space between the bathtub and the toilet.

She nodded against his chest. "I'm fine."

"Okay, then we sit for awhile," he agreed, before kissing her temple.

"Thank you," she said softly. "For everything. For being so amazing and wonderful during all of this...for loving me...oh!" She exclaimed.

"Mac?" He questioned as he sat up straighter, his hand immediately moving from one side of her belly to the other. "Was that…?" he started before he trailed off.

"The baby kicking?" Mac finished for him.

He nodded, eyes wide as the baby delivered another kick.

"Yes," Mac confirmed what he already new, her hands were now resting over his. "It's so….so…" At this moment, _she _was the one who was unable to find the words.

"Amazing? Breathtaking? Magical?" He supplied for her - the words were not failing him now.

She nodded her head a few times as the tears welled in her eyes. "It's all of that and then some...it's a miracle. _Our_ miracle."


	7. Chapter 7

It's been a while since I updated this story, and a Caroline story was a welcomed distraction for me this week. If you're still reading this, enjoy!

* * *

2011

There were very few things that Harmon Rabb hated more than shopping at the mall. It was just as busy as one would expect for a Saturday afternoon. Parking had been a nightmare and the crowds inside were not much better. He and Caroline were on "top secret mission," and his daughter was definitely enjoying the mall much more than he was. So far, they had been to four different stores trying to find a gift and struck out at all of them. Well, for the gift at least. Somehow, he still managed to buy Caroline a new pair of shoes, a couple of outfits, and a few more headbands.

"Oh, Daddy, it's perfect!" Caroline giggled happily. "He's my favorite. We need him. We can give him to Momma for "Operation Rainbow Sprinkles!" "Operation Rainbow Sprinkles" was the code name he and Caroline gave to the planning they were doing for Mac's birthday.

Harm studied the cookie jar that Caroline was pointing at. It on the very bottom shelf of the clearance aisle at the department store. He bent down to pick up the object so he could get a better look. "He is kind of cute, isn't he?"

Caroline nodded. "The cutest! Let's get him!"

The subject of their conversation was a monkey cookie jar. It was rather large for a cookie jar and stood relatively tall, but not very wide. It was a light brown monkey, holding a bunch of yellow bananas and had pink flowers in between the bananas, with a thin line that was supposed to represent a smile and one eye that was slightly larger than the other. It wasn't in a box, and there were also a few chips and scratches near the base of the jar. It was cute in a rather eccentric way was his final determination.

"Pllleeeeaassseeee, Daddy? Can we get him? Can we?" Caroline was practically bursting at the seams – a bystander probably would have thought she was asking her father for a puppy or something of that nature.

A middle-aged woman with a short grayish –silver bob, cat eye glasses with bright blue frames, and red lipstick took a few steps closer to the father-daughter duo. "That little guy," she gestured to the monkey, "has been a markdown for two years!" She told them. "That's why he's an orange sticker...that means he's ninety percent off."

"Two years, huh?" Harm said.

"Yep," Rita– according to her name tag – said. "Two whole years."

"Oh, Daddy, that means we have to rescue him. He's probably very lonely." She frowned – the thought making her sad.

"I think we can do that." Harm flashed a smile at his daughter. "Everyone deserves a home, right?"

Caroline nodded.

Rita was actually a little bit surprised that the man would purchase such a bizarre looking cookie jar, but the little girl was completely smitten by it and she surmised there was no way he would tell her no.

"I can't wait to give it to Mommy!"

Harm winced just a bit behind his smile. "You know, Itsy-Bitsy, this little guy is pretty great, but maybe we should keep looking for something else for Mommy's birthday gift."

Rita was amused by the man's response. She knew gifts came from the heart, but this cookie jar was downright awful in her opinion, and she was glad that the man suggested they get something else as a gift for the mother of his child.

The little girl was quiet for a moment before she spoke up again. "So, if we don't give him to Mommy that means I can keep in my room?"

"We can probably find a place for him on your dresser; he isn't really meant to be a toy..."

"And we have to put cookies in him so he's not hungry!" She exclaimed.

Harm laughed – he knew Caroline was going try to get him to agree to that. "I don't think so."

Caroline shrugged. "It was worth a shot."

Rita laughed at the exchange – children were so much fun at that age. "I can take him up to the front for you guys if you aren't finished shopping," she offered.

"Will you take good care of him?" Caroline asked, concerned.

"Oh, the best," Rita assured her.

The little girl looked at her father and he nodded his approval. "She'll take good care of him while we get the rest of Mommy's gift," he told her.

"He has a name, Daddy. It's Munchies! Mr. Munchies!"

"She'll take good care of Mr. Munchies," he corrected with a grin. "I'm sure of it." Harm handed the ceramic cookie jar to Rita. "Alright, Itsy-Bitsy, let's go look for that gift." He extended his hand out for Caroline to hold it.

"Am I gonna be your co-pilot again?" She asked, happily, her eyes wide as they began wandering down the aisles.

"Well, of course! You're the best co-pilot there is."

"I can't wait to be a REAL co-pilot."

The thought of taking her for her first flight in "Sarah" was something he thought about often. He knew that pretty soon she would be tall enough to meet the safety requirements and flying with her would become a reality. "Me either," her father agreed.

"Someday, I'm gonna have my own plane, too, but don't worry, Daddy. I'll let you fly it. I promise to still be your co-pilot even when I get big enough to be a pilot!"

He grinned and leaned down so he could pick her up. "You don't know how happy that makes me, Itsy-Bitsy," he said before giving her a kiss.

Caroline reached out to wrap her arms around his neck and give him a hug. "I love you, Daddy."

"And I love you an eternity," he told her – once he and Mac finally figured things out, "love" and "eternity" were two words that went together hand in hand. They were happy to pass that on to their daughter as well.

* * *

As soon as they got back to the house, Caroline began giving her father his "orders."

"These bags hafta stay in the car so Mommy doesn't see them. We can wrap them when she's not home." She gestured to the bags that housed the various birthday gifts they picked out for Mac. "But this one with Munchies can come inside. You hafta carry him real gentle so he doesn't break, Daddy."

"Aye-aye, ma'am." Harm replied with a salute. He finished helping Caroline get out of the SUV, handed her the smaller bags with her belongings, and then reached for the bag with the cookie jar. "After you, ma'am," he said as he gestured towards the house.

Caroline smiled. "Thank you, _sir." _She replied before doing an about face towards the house. She definitely took after both of her parents, that was evident in a million little ways every single day.

"Hi, sweetheart," Mac said with a smile when Caroline entered the kitchen. "Did you have a good time with Daddy?"

Caroline bobbed her head up and down. "Wait until you see Munchies!"

"Munchies?" Mac asked as she finished unloading the dishwasher. "Who or what is Munchies?"

"My new friend! He's a monkey!" Caroline giggled, bringing her hand to her mouth in a very Shirley Temple kind of way.

Mac's eyes grew wide. "Did you say your new friend is a monkey?" She asked for clarification.

"Oh, yes, Mommy. He's the cutest."

"A _ceramic _monkey," Harm clarified as he walked into the room.

Mac let out a sigh of relief. She didn't _actually_ think that Harm and Caroline would have come home with a _real_ monkey, but it was no secret that Caroline had her father wrapped around her little finger. Caroline probably possessed the power to get him to agree to _almost_ anything under the right circumstances. And, for the record, Mac was not immune to their daughter's charm either. Caroline was a miracle for them in every sense of the word, and she wanted to give her the childhood she never had. However, on the flip side of that, their military training made it easier for them to keep order in their household and to tell Caroline no when they knew they had, too.

"A ceramic monkey, huh? Well, let me see!"

Caroline climbed into her seat at the island and watched as Harm removed it from the bag and placed it on the counter. "It's a cookie jar!" She beamed.

"It's...it's, uh, well," Mac stammered.

"Cute, isn't he?" Harm said.

"Uhh..."

"Momma, don't you like him?" Caroline wondered.

Mac plastered on a smile for her daughter's sake. "He's something special!" She finally exclaimed as cheerfully as she could.

"We rescued him! The lady at the store said he was there for TWO years. That's a really long time. I asked Daddy if we could get him and Daddy said yes 'cause everyone deserves a home. Right, Daddy?"

Harm nodded. "That's right, Itsy-Bitsy."

"I wanna keep Mr. Munchies in my room. Can I, Mommy? Daddy said yes..."

"That's fine," Mac agreed, quickly- happy that the eccentric object wouldn't be on display in the kitchen. "He looks fragile, so you can't play with him. He has to stay on your dresser as a decoration."

Caroline nodded. "Daddy said that, too. But, he's probably gonna be hungry...can we put cookies in him? Munchies won't be lonely anymore, but I don't want him to be hungry." She decided she could ask again and see if her mother would give her a different answer.

"I am going to go out on a limb and say you probably already asked Daddy that and he told you no, huh?" Her mother replied.

Caroline pouted and nodded her head bashfully. "How'd you know that?"

"Because I just do." She glanced up at Harm and winked – recalling a time when he said "because has never been a valid reason for anything, Mac – playing in her head. "Because" carried a totally different weight in the realm of parenthood. "Why don't you go pick a spot in your room for Mr. Munchies and Daddy and I will be there in one minute?" Mac suggested.

"Yes, and you can see what Daddy bought me at the store!" Caroline nodded happily and crawled down from her chair.

"Can I see _everything _you and Daddy bought at the store?" Mac asked. "Did you buy anything for me?" She tried to take a peek into the bag Caroline was holding close to her chest.

"Maaacc..." Harm warned. Obviously, Mac was intelligent and knew what "Operation Rainbow Sprinkles" was, but he didn't think that she would be so impatient about finding out what they had planned that she would try to get their daughter to spill the beans.

Caroline pretended to zip her lips and dramatically throw away a key before speaking again. "It is a surprise, Momma. I can't tell you."

Mac grinned and tapped Caroline's nose. "What? It was worth a shot," she said – taking a line that her daughter said often.

Caroline giggled as she ran past her parents and towards the stairs.

"Don't run inside!" Mac called as a reminder.

"Oops! I forgot!" Caroline exclaimed as she immediately slowed her pace.

After glancing around the corner to make sure that Caroline was truly gone, Mac spoke again. "Harm! That's the most hideous object I have ever seen!"

"What? Oh, come on, Mac. I think he's cute."

Mac rolled her eyes. "Caroline isn't here, you can say what you really think."

"I really do think he's cute." He wasn't changing he stance. The monkey _was_ cute in some odd and endearing way.

"Harm, it's hideous."

"I think this is one of those times where we are going to have to agree to disagree on something, Mac," he shrugged. "Munchies is cute, and I am glad we rescued him."

Mac shook her head and chuckled as she picked up the cookie jar.

"What's so funny, Marine?" he wondered.

She shrugged. "I've known you for over fifteen years, Harm, and this not something I ever would have pictured you buying. That's all. Your style has always been...clean, sophisticated. This," she waved a hand over the object, "is neither. It's gaudy."

"You're entitled to your own opinion, Colonel, just like Caroline and I are entitled to ours."

Mac placed the cookie jar on the counter again and took a few steps closer to Harm so that she was completely invading his personal space – they were toe to toe- both literally and figuratively.

Catching on, Harm's hands quickly found their way to her waist and he lifted her up so she was sitting on the counter top. "You're trying to start a fight with me," he said, in a very matter of fact manner, once the realization dawned on him.

Mac smirked. Her legs parted, and he stepped as close as he could to her, before leaning in to give her a kiss, his hands coming to rest on her thighs. When the kiss came to a natural end, he began to pull away, but Mac brought him to her once again. And then a few more times after that.

"Maybe, but I do really think it is hideous," she finally said after they did part. They would pick random, little "arguments" with each other once in a while after Harm's suggestion that day she tried to fix the faucet. It proved to be an excellent type of foreplay for them. It was a "redo" of the flirtations and verbal foreplay that didn't lead them to the bedroom for nine long years.

"Be honest, Harm, you only bought that atrocious thing because Caroline fell in love with it."

"It has some type of eccentric appeal to it that does make it endearing, but yes, Mac. I only _bought_ it because Caroline fell in love with it. She can be very persuasive...even without trying to be. It's almost like she's the daughter of two attorneys or something," he winked.

Mac smiled, staring at him for a long moment, without saying anything.

"Mac?" He finally prompted. "What's going on in there?" He tapped her forehead gently with his pointer finger.

Her smiled widened as she asked, "Do you realize what you just did?"

"What did I do?" He had no idea where she was going to go with this conversation.

"You just bought a family heirloom."

His brows furrowed. "A three-dollar ceramic cookie jar is a family heirloom?"

Mac nodded. "Yes, because you made a memory. Caroline loves that thing, and she probably always will because she'll remember spending the day with her daddy shopping for "Operation Rainbow Sprinkles" and rescuing a lonely monkey that needed a home. She's going to show that silly cookie jar to her kids, and then her grandkids and she'll tell them the story of how Munchies was saved." Mac didn't have very many fond memories of her childhood, and what few ones she did have existed because of Uncle Matt. She was so grateful Caroline was surrounded by so many people who loved her and would have happy childhood memories.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on a second, Mac. Slow down just a minute." Harm shook his head and waved his hand. "While I appreciate the sentiment, can we _not_ talk about Itsy-Bitsy having children and grandchildren! She hasn't even turned five yet!"

Mac loved that Harm still called Caroline "Itsy-Bitsy" and she knew that he always would. "You're right," she agreed. "I guess I don't want to think about it, either. It's like that song. How does it go? Something like -turn around and you're two, turn around and you're four, turn around and you're a young girl going out of the door."

Harm nodded, offering another verse. "Turn around and you're tiny, turn around and you're grown, turn around and you're a young wife with babes of your own."

Mac bit her bottom lip and couldn't help the tears that welled in her eyes. Harm was quick to wipe them away with the pads of his thumbs, she forced herself to stop staring across the room at some invisible spot on the wall and to stare into her husbands eyes instead. "I just love her so much, you know?" Her voice broke as she spoke. Those thoughts of Caroline growing up were scary, in a way, and all she wanted to do was keep Caroline little forever some days. Although, those thoughts also brought her to Audrey, and the reminder that their sweet little Audrey would forever be a baby. They would never see her grow up and experience life. So essentially, her spoken words had two meanings at the same time.

He flashed the smile that he used only with her, although it carried some sadness behind it. "I know, Sarah."

It was the way he spoke, his voice carrying such a sense of calmness and understanding, that Mac knew Harm must have been reading her thoughts.

"I think about her all the time, and what the future would be like with her," he admitted softly.

Mac placed her hands over his. "You knew what I was thinking about."

"Always," he whispered. "Always." His kissed her temple and hugged her close.

She sniffled and then found her voice. "We better not keep Caroline waiting any longer," she said as she hopped down from the counter.

"Mommy!" They could hear Caroline call from upstairs. "Where are you?"

"We're coming!" Mac called back.

"You know, Mac," Harm said as he picked up the cookie jar and followed his wife towards the stairs. "I can't figure out if she has your sense of timing or my sense of timing."

"I have a hunch she takes after me," Mac called over her shoulder as she took the steps two at a time.

When they entered Caroline's room, they found that she was sitting on the edge of her bed with her arms crossed. "Mommy, Daddy," she began in her best grown up voice. "That took longer than one minute."

Mac smirked and turned to her husband. "See, I told you so."

Harm pretended to act shocked and pass the blame a little bit. "We were coming up here as fast as we could, Itsy-Bitsy, but Mommy was distracting me!" After all, it was Mac who started the little argument which in turn started to turn into the beginnings of a make out session in the middle of the kitchen.

Caroline shook her head. "No _excuses_, Daddy," she said as best as she could with her little toddler-eque lisp. "Munchies has been waiting two years for a home. We can't make him wait more."

"Well, sweetheart, where are you going to put him?" Mac asked Caroline.

Caroline held her arms out to her mother and Mac lifted her up.

"Right there, Momma," she pointed to a spot on the highest dresser in her room.

"That's perfect," Mac said.

"He's gonna be high 'nuff up that he won't fall, but I'll see him when I wake up and when I go to sleep and he'll know he's not alone anymore."

Mac kissed Caroline's cheek as Harm put Munchies in his new home. "That's very sweet, Caroline."

As Harm placed the cookie jar on the dresser, he had another thought. Maybe Mac was right about this being a family heirloom. He couldn't help but to think about how it could be the perfect spin on piggy bank and truly be an investment in Caroline's future – a way to teach her about earning, saving and managing money, but that was a lesson for another day. "Well, there you go, Mr. Munchies," Harm said as he took a step backwards and draped his arm over Mac's shoulders. "Welcome to the family."

"Yeah," Caroline agreed. "You're gonna love it here!"

* * *

A/N: And yes, this chapter was inspired by true events and the Diana Ross version of "Turn Around." Thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

2011

* * *

When Harmon Rabb finally returned home one Friday evening from an out of town work conference, he was pretty sure it looked like something exploded in their family room. The furniture was rearranged and pillows, cushions, and blankets made up one of the most massive (and impressive) pillow forts he had ever seen.

He could hear the infectious laughter coming from his daughter and his wife, and for one, brief moment, he wondered if Mac didn't know he was home yet.

That moment was very short lived when he heard his wife say, "Ssh, Caroline. There are spies everywhere. Especially navy spies. We have to be _very _quiet."

Harm knew he wouldn't be able to surprise his wife, but perhaps he still had a chance at surprising his four-and-a-half-year-old daughter. He carefully tip-toed around to the rear of the fort. He kneeled down, but before he could even prepare to lift the blanket a millimeter, a little ball of energy rolled out of the tent, and then popped up so she could "tackle" him. She definitely had her mother's ninja moves.

Caroline laughed hysterically as they tumbled to the ground. She was dressed in a camo outfit and her hair was rolled into the standard style military bun. "And that's what we call a Marine sneak attack!" Caroline exclaimed proudly.

"Hi, Itsy-Bitsy," he smiled at her. "Or should I say "Mini Ninja Girl" instead?"

"It's _Major_, Daddy," she corrected. "I'm the major and Mommy is the colonel."

"And what does that make me then?" Harm asked.

"Admiral, silly! 'Cause you're in the navy and not the marines."

"Oh, that's right! So, where is Colonel Mommy?" he asked – even though he obviously knew the answer.

"She's at Fort Rabb!" Caroline crawled off of her father's chest, and then poked her head back inside the makeshift tent. "It was a navy person, but not a spy; it was just Daddy!" she said.

Mac chuckled as she crawled out of the fort. "Well, it's a good thing he's my favorite squid then."

As she came into view, Harm was convinced that he was transported to another time. She was wearing a pair of camo leggings and her USMC t-shirt. She also changed her hairstyle while he was gone. She had it colored – it had more of a reddish-copper hue to it again- and was shaped into a bob style cut that came to extend past her jawline. It was very similar to a hairstyle she had many years ago during the simpler times – before Bud lost his leg, before his trial, before Webb wreaked havoc in their lives with Sadik and Paraguay. She was absolutely stunning, and all Harm could think about was how she looked _exactly_ the same as she did the night the camped out in the desert.

"Hiya, Sailor. We missed you." She greeted.

His eyes were glued to her, with his classic flyboy grin in place, and he just kept studying her.

"Hey! Aren't you going to kiss me?" She teased him – pouting her lip.

His classic grin quickly morphed into a cocky grin. "I'm not sure my wife would like that," he teased back. "She looks a lot like you, but she wears her hair differently."

"See, Momma!" Caroline popped her head out of the fort. "I told you if you changed your hair, Daddy wouldn't even recognize you! You shoulda waited."

Harm and Mac both laughed. "I was just being silly, Itsy-Bitsy. I knew it was Mommy."

Caroline let out a sigh of relief. "Good, 'cause I was worried you wouldn't! She never had hair like that before."

"Actually," Harm reached for his wallet. "Mommy did have her hair like that before." He pulled out one of his favorite images from his wallet. It was taken from the desert. The image that he liked so much that he gifted to Mac for Christmas the following year was so special to him that he had a smaller print made for him to keep in his wallet. "Take a look at this."

"Oh, wow," their daughter appeared to be amazed by the picture. "That's _beautiful_." She ran her fingers over the image of her parents.

"Very beautiful," Harm agreed.

Mac smiled affectionately at the two of them. "Thank you," she said softly.

"Hey, you and Daddy have the same uniforms! Was Daddy a marine, too?"

"No way!" Harm exclaimed quickly with a smile. "That was just a different type of uniform that I had to wear because of where we were. It looked similar to Mommy's uniform, but it was still different."

"Yeah, Daddy doesn't have what it takes to be a marine," Mac teased. "But I suppose that is okay - dress whites and gold wings do suit him just fine."

"And all this time I thought you felt that they were overrated," he smirked.

She grinned, but her facial features quickly turned into a scowl. "However, I may be forced to change my mind again if you don't hurry up and kiss me."

"Well, we can't have that, now, can we?" He made sure Caroline was occupied with the picture before he stood up and took a step closer to his wife. "Hi, Mac," he greeted after he kissed her thoroughly.

"Welcome home, Admiral Rabb. How was your trip?"

He shrugged. "Political, of course. I'm just glad it's over and I get to spend my weekend with you two. Do you have work to do this weekend?"

She shook her head. "Nope - my case reached a settlement yesterday, so I took today off and I'm not working on anything for work until Monday morning."

"Maybe this will be the perfect time to take a drive to go see Mattie. The weather is supposed to be great this weekend."

"I think that sounds wonderful – if she doesn't have plans, of course. I'll give her a call while I heat up your dinner."

Harm frowned at both the thought that Mattie may have had plans, and the fact the he just assumed she would be available to spend the day with them. He was guilty of still treating Mattie like a teenager at times and not a young _adult. _Mac was the one who always seemed to reign him in when he needed it no matter what the circumstances were.

"I can get my own dinner, Mac. It looks like you and Caroline are very busy with boot camp."

"No, no. I got it," she insisted. "Caroline has been anxiously waiting for you to come home."

As if on cue, Caroline walked over to her parents and handed the photo back to Harm. "Daddy, guess what, guess what!" Her father was away for work for three days and she had so many things to tell him. "I made a restaurant. Mommy, can Daddy eat dinner at my restaurant like we did last night? Please, oh, please, oh, please?"

"I think that's an excellent idea. Go take Daddy to your restaurant and I'll be there soon with the food."

"Okay!" She exclaimed. "Come on Daddy! Let's go to my play room – I mean my restaurant. It's in the play room."

"I would be delighted to escort you to the restaurant, Ms. Rabb." He offered his hand.

Caroline laughed. "This is fun!"

When they entered the play room, Harm discovered that Mac and Caroline had been busy in there as well. The toys were rearranged, with the play kitchen and little table now set up to resemble a restaurant and patio. Mac put her artistic abilities to good use to make trees as scenery from some old boxes and paint. There was also a sign above the table that read "Caroline's Café."

"Wow," Harm commented. "You and Mommy must have been really busy."

Caroline nodded. "We missed you sooooooo much, so we did projects to stay busy 'til you came home."

"I can't wait to hear all about it," Harm said as they sat down at the little table.

"Well, the first night you were gone Mommy and I had Beltway Burger for dinner! And we had chocolate milkshakes, too!"

Harm chuckled. "I'm not surprised."

"Then the next day, Mommy had to work a lot, so I went to Aunt Harriet's and we made cookies."

"Ah, yes. Aunt Harriet makes some pretty good cookies, doesn't she?"

"Mmhm," Caroline agreed. "Then the next day, when she got home Mommy said her work was all done and she didn't have to go to work the next day; so we made my restaurant and played and read lots of books. And then this morning Mommy cried..."

"Whoa, Mommy cried today?" Harm was immediately concerned. "Why did Mommy cry?"

"I'm not 'posed to tell why!"

"It's okay to tell me, Itsy-Bitsy. I can't help Mommy if I don't know what happened. You, me and Mommy don't keep secrets from each other."

"But we didn't tell Mommy what we gother for her birthday that time..." She countered.

"Well," Harm started to explain. "That was a surprise. There are differences between surprises and secrets."

"Like what?"

"Well, a surprise is something that we want people to find out eventually – usually it's something good and it's not a secret for very long. A secret, on the other hand, is what it's called when someone tells you that you _shouldn't_ tell a trusted adult something – and those aren't usually good. That's something you should definitely tell someone you trust – like Mommy, me, Aunt Harriet, Uncle Bud, or Nana and Papa."

"Hmm," Caroline sighed as she stood up from the table. She quickly went to poke her head out into the hallway before trotting back over to the table. "Mommy cried because she found three gray hairs this morning – but I'm not 'posed to tell anyone she has gray hair! So, ssh!" Caroline brought a finger to her lips.

Harm was immediately relieved. "Okay, so I guess we would call that a half secret. It's okay that you told me, but since Mommy doesn't want people to know, we probably shouldn't tell anyone else. Okay?"

"Daddy, you're confusing me."

"I'm confusing me too," he mumbled under his breath. "We'll talk about this tonight with Mommy." Truthfully, he needed some time to put his case together. Caroline was at a very influential age, and he needed Mac's help explaining this subject to their daughter. He didn't want to explain this to her the wrong way.

"Okay."

"Is that why Mommy changed her hair, then?" Harm asked - the timing of Mac's sudden desire to change her hair made a lot more sense to him now.

Caroline shrugged. "I don't know, but Mommy and I went and got haircuts today and Mommy changed the color of her hair. Then we got our nails painted- look! They're purple!" She stuck her hand in front of her father's face, but continued talking without skipping a beat, "- and then we went to get ice cream and played at the park. Then we came home and had dinner and then we played Marine, and then you got home."

The next few hours were spent talking about what tomorrow would be like with their visit with Mattie and the explanations of unsafe secrets versus safe secrets. The evening was then rounded out by everyone watching an episode of a Disney Channel show that Caroline liked.

Halfway through the episode, Mac noticed that both her husband and her daughter were fast asleep. Mac flipped off the TV and then carefully removed a sleeping Caroline from her spot on Harm's chest. The child didn't even flinch as Mac carried her upstairs, changed her into her pajamas and put her to bed.

When Mac returned to the family room a short while later, after changing into her own pajamas, Harm was still asleep. "Harm," she said, softly. "Wake up. Your back won't like it if you stay in that position too much longer."

"But I'm sleeping," he replied without even opening his eyes. "Caroline fell asleep and you carried her upstairs. Wouldn't you do the same for me?" he asked.

"Hah!" Mac laughed as she playfully threw a throw pillow at him. "Keep dreaming, Flyboy."

"I thought a good marine didn't leave a man behind." He opened his eyes and smiled at her. "Cute," he said as he sat up and gestured to her silky polka dot robe. "Not very marine-like, though."

"Do you think all my pajamas are cute?" she asked with her signature eyebrow raise as he moved to a sitting position.

He pulled her down so that she was sitting on his lap. "Among other adjectives, too." He smirked – by now her robe had fallen open and was revealing the very low-cut v-neckline of her black nightgown.

"I see..." she trailed off as he ran his fingers from the hem of her neckline, up her neck and shoulder, and through her hair.

With his forehead pressed against hers, he said, "You don't know how much I wanted to do that to you the night we slept in the desert."

"Who would have thought redheads were your type? I always thought you had a thing for blondes." She quipped.

"They only _type_ I have, Mac, is _you." _

"Flattery will get you everywhere, Mr. Rabb."

He kissed her again. "For the record, you are beautiful no matter what your hair looks like, Mac, gray hair and all!" He couldn't resist the urge to tease and banter with her just a little bit, so he tickled her.

"Stop!" She laughed. "I'm going to remind you of that when you find _your_ first gray hair one of these days. Harm!" She exclaimed as he continued tickling her.

Although, she was certain that her sailor would look even _more _handsome than usual with a mature, salt and pepper look going for him.


	9. Chapter 9

London  
2006

Sarah MacKenzie Rabb blinked a few times as she sat up in bed. Both her body and her internal clock alerting her to the fact that it was almost time to nurse her newborn daughter. As she looked around the room, she noticed the small bassinet beside the bed was empty and Harm wasn't in bed either.

She reached for her robe off the chair, and then opened the bedroom door. She followed the faint glow of the light in the family room down the hallway and stopped just short of the entryway to the family room. The scene she saw melted her heart and she wanted to remember it forever.

Harm was sitting on the couch with his long legs propped against the coffee table. Their tiny daughter, Caroline, was cradled safely in his arms. He was completely mesmerized by their daughter and he couldn't seem to spend enough time with her.

"And that, Itsy- Bitsy," Mac heard him say, "is the story of how I took your mommy flying for the very first time."

The baby wiggled and made some sort of sound that Harm could have sworn was a disappointed sigh.

"I know, I know. It was a disaster." He shifted the baby so she was resting on his chest and placed a kiss on the top of her head. "I thought for sure she would hate me after that and request a new partner at JAG. Luckily, she didn't ...maybe it had something to do with the very expensive steak dinner I bought her and the fact that I wrote all the case briefs for our cases for at least two months after that."

The newborn became fussy, but she seemed to be settling down as her father continued to speak in his calm and soothing voice.

"You want to know something? The very first time I thought about having a baby with your mommy, I told her that with her looks, and my brains he'd be perfect. She was amused but countered my offer and said, what if _she_ has _your _looks and _my_ brains. It never really mattered to me who our son or daughter would look like, or whose brains they'd have – although, if you want to go to West Point or enlist in the Marines or something instead of going to Annapolis we might have to have a discussion about that," he teased the baby with his signature flyboy grin. "But," he continued, suddenly becoming more serious, "what I truly hope for you is that you get your mother's brains. She's the smartest, strongest most amazing woman I have ever known, and I want you to be like that."

Mac was just about to tell the baby that her father was pretty amazing himself, but before she could speak, Caroline let out an ear-piercing cry.

"I know," he said gently. "I bet you're hungry now. I thought we'd come out here after your diaper change so Mommy could get a few more minutes of sleep. We'll go wake her up now," he assured the child. "I promise."

Before he could even stand up, Mac was standing in front of them at the couch. "Hey," she smiled.

"Hey yourself," he smiled back – one of the most amazing smiles Mac had ever seen. "We were just about to come and wake you up, weren't we Itsy-Bitsy?"

Mac settled beside Harm on the sofa and began to unbutton her pajama shirt and nursing bra. "I was already awake; I knew you were hungry, sweet girl," she said as Harm handed Caroline to her. The baby latched on quickly - much to Mac's relief. Caroline struggled to latch on at first when they were in the hospital, but Nurse Beatrice assured her there was nothing wrong medically.

"_Sometimes, it just takes a little bit of time for moms and babies to figure these things out together_," she had said. "_And that's okay."_

After a moment, Mac began to speak again, "You want to know something else, Caroline? It never mattered to me either who a baby would look like when your daddy and I made that deal so long ago, and that comment about whose brains the baby would have was a total tongue in cheek comment... your daddy and I like to banter and tease each other. You'll learn that soon enough. But the truth is, sweet girl, that your daddy is pretty amazing himself. He's compassionate, he's intelligent, and has such a drive for truth and justice. I want you to be like that," she finished softly. With Caroline being cradled against her securely with her left arm, Mac used her right hand to reach for Harm's hand and give it a gentle squeeze before entwining their fingers. "I love you."

He brought her hand to his lips and placed a kiss on them. "I love you, Mac."

"Just look at her, Harm. We did it...something that I truly was beginning to think was impossible. But it wasn't...and she's here now, and I … I..." she pulled her hand way from his so she could wipe away the tears that were welling in her eyes. She couldn't wait for the post pregnancy hormones to level out she never cried so much in her entire life as she did during her pregnancy and now. "I just never knew it was possible to be _this_ happy."

* * *

Alexandria, VA  
2008

Twenty-two months later, Harm's new orders were approved and they were moved back to the Washington area. Their new house was in the same neighborhood as Bud and Harriet, Harm had a new billet at the Pentagon which came with a promotion to Admiral, and Mattie was improving immensely and was on track to apply for college soon. Life was good.

Well, the only thing that could make it better – in this particular moment - was if their daughter would stop crying and go to sleep. The child was not adjusting well to the international move. It really threw off her sleeping patterns and her mood.

Mac had tried to let Caroline self-soothe, but she decided it went on long enough. It broke her heart that Caroline was distressed, and that she couldn't do anything to make the move easier for the child.

Carefully, she got out of bed and made her way to Caroline's bedroom. Caroline was standing up in her crib, sobbing, but immediately began to calm down when she spotted her mother. "Ma-ma." She waved her arms towards her mother. "Ma-ma. Up."

"What's wrong, sweet pea?" Mac asked as she lifted the child from the crib and brought her over to the changing table. Mac checked Caroline's temperature and her diaper and was satisfied with both results, she said, "I think you just haven't become accustomed to your new surroundings, yet, huh?"

With her sobs slowly subsiding, the child whimpered.

"It's okay," she patted her back. "Sometimes it just takes a while to get used to your new surroundings, and they Navy moves on a tight schedule. We didn't really have time to ease into this, but Daddy and Mattie are trying to sleep. I know this time change is hard on everyone, but they have really important days tomorrow. Daddy has to go to work at the Pentagon, and Mattie has physical therapy. They need to be well rested, and they don't have time to take a nap in the morning like we will."

Caroline sniffled, and then started to cry again.

"Everything is okay," Mac soothed. "You're going to love it in Washington. It's where Daddy and I met each other and where we worked together for a very long time. There are all kinds of museums, too. Daddy can't wait to take you to the Air and Space Museum, and I can't wait to take you to the Museum of Natural History to learn all about the dinosaurs. And how can I forget all the good food that is here? You're going to love Beltway Burger!" She kissed Caroline's temple. "But before we do anything like that, you, sweet girl, need to go to sleep."

"No." Caroline said stubbornly. It was her favorite word lately. "Not mine." She cried, and Mac instantly knew what she was trying to say.

"But this is your room," Mac explained as she gently rocked the chair back and forth. "It's your new room in our new house. We're going to do so many great things in this house. Pretty soon, you're going to have your big girl bed, and you'll be all potty trained. You're becoming such a big girl, you know. And maybe you'll even have a baby brother or sister to play with."

Caroline sniffled again. "Mine?" She pointed to the wall.

"Yes," Mac nodded. "This is your room."

"No like," Caroline pouted.

"Let's take a little walk to the kitchen, huh? Maybe a change of scenery will help." Mac suggested. "Then you can see there is nothing to be afraid of. Everything is okay. I promise...and just like Daddy's promises are special, so are mine."

Once in the kitchen, Mac flipped on the dim light above the sink and turned on the radio mounted under the cabinet. There wasn't much to listen to at 2:30am, and she had to scan the channels for a while before she found a suitable station.

"There," she said to her daughter. "That should help." Mac began to sway around the kitchen, hoping to lull Caroline to sleep, and started to sing along to the radio.

"I've got sunshine on a cloudy day  
When it's cold outside I've got the month of May  
Well I guess you'd say  
What can make me feel this way?  
My girl..."

That was how Harm found them a few versus later when he came into the kitchen. "Is everything okay?" He asked softly, scrubbing a hand over his face. He realized that Mac got up at some point and vaguely remembered that Caroline had been crying, but he had no idea how much time had actually passed since then and now.

"Hi," she smiled at him. His hair was sticking up in places and traces of sleep lingered in his voice, but he looked so content and happy. "You should be sleeping. It's a big day for you tomorrow."

He shrugged and took a few steps closer to Mac and Caroline. The child was close to falling asleep, but not quite there yet. He reached out and gently caressed Caroline's face. Her eyes fluttered opened and she smiled at him for a second before they started to close again.

"Rough night, huh?"

"Yeah," Mac agreed. "I think it is just going to take some time before she adjusts to this new environment. You should probably go back to bed. I'll be up soon."

"Don't worry about me, Mac. I'd much rather be here making memories; I couldn't think of a better way to spend the first night in our new house."

"The Way You Look to Night" started filtering through the speakers and Harm reached for his wife's hand. They gently swayed to the music with Caroline nestled safely between them as she finally fell back asleep.

"This is nice," Mac said softly.

"So many memories are going to be made in this house, Mac. Holidays, birthdays, everything, but something about these simple unexpected ones...well, they're very special to me," he finished as he carefully twirled her around without disturbing Caroline.

"Me, too."

They continued to dance in the kitchen and were completely unaware of Mattie's presence until she spoke.

"I feel like I stepped into one of those cheesy Hallmark movies," she teased them with a smile. Mattie never would have thought moments like this existed in real life before she met Harm and Mac. Her parents had a rocky relationship, as did her grandparents, and growing up surrounded by that, she always thought that was the norm. Seeing Harm and Mac like this – even after all the missteps she heard about their relationship in their years as partners – filled her with such a sense of optimism and hope.

"Mattie!" Mac exclaimed. "I'm sorry if Caroline woke you up, but I think she's finally asleep now. Care to join us for a dance?"

"Nah, that's okay," she pulled out a chair and sat down at the island. "I don't really dance...and I especially don't know how to dance the way you two do. That's not a skill people in my age group learned." Mattie replied as the song they were dancing to came to an end.

"Harm's a great teacher," Mac said as she shifted Caroline in her arms before sitting in the chair next to Mattie.

"How'd you become such a good dancer, anyways?" Mattie asked him. "Did you have to work on it or was it just one of Harmon Rabb's many talents?"

"My mom taught me," Harm smiled at the memory. "She was adamant that I needed to learn how to dance the "proper" way before my first dance in junior high. She made me practice for hours. I hated it in the moment, but I'm grateful she was like that now."

After a brief commercial, the radio station resumed playing music – this time the song was "What a Wonderful World."

"Come on," Harm said as he gestured towards Mattie. "This is a great song to learn to."

"Oh, I don't know," she protested.

"You won't know until you try..."

"I still limp a little bit... I'll look stupid."

"No, you won't," he assured her.

"Go on," Mac encouraged with a head nod.

"Okay," Mattie agreed reluctantly, with the typical teenager sigh, as she stood up. "I'll try."

"That's all I'm asking," Harm said with a smile. "Ready?"

Mattie nodded.

Harm started to count out the rhythm of the song out as they moved around the kitchen.

Mac watched the pair with a smile. "See, Matts, you're doing great!" She praised.

"I knew you could do it!" Harm offered. "I think she's a natural, Mac."

Mattie brushed off the compliment. "Or Mac was right and you are just a really good teacher."

"Well, I think it's a little bit of both," Mac smiled.

It was a beautiful, simple family moment between them where life was content and happy. No one would have been able to predict the heartache and grief that would loom over the Rabb household in 2010.


	10. Chapter 10

Easter Day  
April 2011

Sarah MacKenzie Rabb was no stranger to insomnia. For much of her life, it had always been a constant presence. It was something that started in childhood, she was sure. She could recall the nights she would hide under the covers praying that her dad would stop yelling and throwing things.

And then, during her _sober _adult life, there were all kinds of stresses and triggers that would keep her awake. When she was attending law school, it was the course material, when she became a JAG it was her cases and investigations. Then, once she was transferred to the JAG HQ, thoughts of one Harmon Rabb, Jr. were the cause of what kept her awake _many _nights. Most of the time, the thoughts were very pleasant, filled with fantasy and hope. It wasn't until he went back to flying, Sydney Harbor, and the later years of their partnership that those thoughts became less pleasant and filled more with sorrow, rejection, and disappointment over all of their mistakes.

She rolled over and studied her husband's appearance. Even when he was asleep, she found that his presence had such a calming effect on her.

They were fast approaching the anniversary of losing Audrey last spring, and she'd had been feeling so melancholy lately. Vera McCool had been instrumental in helping her come to terms with her grief and her guilt, but there were days where she found that she still just felt _sad_. They came and went without any warning, but she knew why she was feeling this particular way today. It was Easter, and the memory of last Easter was playing in her mind repeatedly in the last few hours.

* * *

Easter Day  
April 2010

_Harm rolled over in bed and placed a gentle kiss on his wife's shoulder. "Good morning."_

"_Mmm," she sighed contently, stretching out her neck so he could trail more kisses along her body, before shimmying closer to him. _

_His hands slipped under her shirt and he gently caressed the growing baby bump. "Good morning to you, too, Baby Bean," he said. _

"_Did you feel that?" Mac asked, placing her hands over his. "I think the baby is saying good morning back to you."_

"_Yeah," Harm grinned. "The faintest bit, but yes."_

"_Pretty soon those kicks will be even stronger." _

_As she turned over to face him, he asked, "What time is it?" Sure, he could have rolled over and looked at the clock on his nightstand, but even after all these years, he couldn't pass up the amusement he had over his wife's internal clock._

"_0639," she replied instantly. "Caroline will be in here any second now."_

"_I should probably get up and start the cinnamon rolls," he said. _

"_No," Mac shook her head. "Don't go yet. Just stay with me a little bit longer. Please?"_

"_Now, how can I resist that?" He tightened his arms around her as she snuggled against him. _

"_Besides," Mac chuckled, "I'm sure Caroline won't even be thinking about breakfast until after she finds her basket."_

_Harm laughed. "I don't know, Ninja Girl. She takes after you when it comes to food."_

"_True, but once she sets her mind to something, it becomes an obsession...like you."_

"_Point taken." He flashed a sheepish grin. There were certain things Caroline was very persistent about, and he knew that part of her personality came from him. _

_Caroline was three and a half and had an exuberant personality. She had a flare for dramatics and a rather large vocabulary for a child her age. So, naturally, they were very excited to enjoy this particular Easter through her eyes. Last night, they decorated eggs and let Caroline set out some carrots and a cookie, of course, because as their daughter pointed out, if you eat your vegetables, you should get dessert, too, for the Easter Bunny. _

_Mac was starting to drift back to sleep when she became aware of Caroline standing at the threshold of their open door. She rolled over to smile at her. _

"_Happy Easter, Itsy-Bitsy," Harm said._

_Caroline walked towards them and struggled to climb up onto the king-sized bed. Mac held her arm so she wouldn't slide off the mattress, but chuckled softly when she couldn't pull Caroline up because of her growing baby bump. "I think we're going to have to send in for reinforcements from the Navy," she said to Caroline. _

_Harm reached over and pulled Caroline onto the bed. She crawled over and settled herself between her parents. "Hi, Baby!" She exclaimed happily to her mother's baby bump. They told her a few days ago that she was going to be a big sister, and after some initial reservation over the fact that she didn't know __how__ to be a big sister, she became very excited to the idea of a new baby. "It's me! Caroline!"_

_Harm and Mac couldn't stop their smiles from forming. The moment was so touching to them._

_Mac could feel the baby move about, and she said, "I think the baby is saying hi to you."_

"_Wow!" Caroline flashed the smile she inherited from her father. "Neat!" Then, she sighed dramatically and crossed her arms. _

"_Uh-oh. What's wrong?" Harm asked. _

"_Me not a good tective!"_

_Harm furrowed his brows. "A what?"_

"_A __tective__." She repeated. "I couldn't find my basket," she pouted. _

"_Oh," the realization dawned him. "A detective."_

"_Yeah."_

"_Where all did you look?" Mac asked. _

"_In my room."_

"_Well, you have to look all over!" Mac exclaimed. "The Easter Bunny knows you're so smart, so he probably hid it extra well."_

"_Me smart?" She asked._

"_So smart," Harm said before kissing the crown of her head._

"_Are you ready to go look for that basket?" Mac asked as she tried to maneuver herself out of bed._

_Caroline shook her head vigorously. "No! Wait!" She squealed. _

"_What's wrong, honey?" Mac wondered as she tried to figure out what caused Caroline's sudden outburst._

"_I didn't kiss Baby yet!" She crawled over her mother's lap, and with the utmost care, she gently placed a kiss on her belly. "And a kiss for Mommy, too!" She exclaimed before kissing her cheek._

"_Oh, I love you so much, Caroline." Mac said as she gave Caroline a hug. _

_By now, Harm out of bed and was standing on Mac's side of the bed. Caroline reached her arms out towards him, and he lifted her up. _

"_And a kiss for Daddy, too!" She said before kissing his cheek. _

* * *

Even in his sleep, Harm could sense when Mac was distraught over something. Slowly, he opened his eyes and studied her. She was facing him, her eyes not quite closed completely, but she wasn't really looking at him. She was deep in thought staring at some imaginary spot on the sheets, while picking at a random piece of thread with her fingers.

He pursed his lips together and thought about how blissfully happy they were last Easter, and then he thought about the day a few weeks later when everything came crashing down.

* * *

_When Audrey died, it had been Harm who talked to Caroline about it while Mac was still in the hospital. He tried his best to explain to her that her beautiful little sister named Audrey was born too early and her heart wasn't strong enough to live on Earth. He told her that Audrey was an angel now living in Heaven._

_The little girl really struggled with the concept of death, and couldn't understand that her baby sister wasn't coming home. She started to cry when she realized her father was crying, and then she became hysterical when she realized her mother wasn't home. _

"_Did Mommy go to Heaven to live with Baby?" Caroline had asked between sobs. _

"_No, no, no," Harm assured her – thanking every single power he could think of that Mac pulled through the surgery and was stable. "The doctors are taking extra special care of Mommy. She'll be home in a day or so. We can go see her tomorrow."_

"_Want Momma," she sobbed. She fell to the ground kicking and screaming. "Momma, Momma, Momma," she repeated over and over again. _

_He scooped her into his arms and held her as tightly as he could until she eventually stopped kicking him in the stomach with her tiny little legs. "Mommy's okay. Mommy's okay. She loves you and misses you and can't wait to see you." He kept repeating over and over. "Mommy's okay."_

"_Mommy..."_

_Harm shifted Caroline in his arms and tried to get her to look at him. When she finally did, he said, "Would you feel better if you sleep in our room tonight?"_

_Caroline nodded her head, and Harm suddenly realized that he may have to clean up the bedroom first. "Okay, here's the plan," he began. "You're going to go to your room and pick out your pj's while I go pick out my pj's and then I'll come and get you. Okay? Can you be a big girl and stay in there until I come and get you?"_

_Caroline nodded again, and Harm carried her up the stairs and deposited her in her bedroom. He took a deep breath as he opened the door to his bedroom and let out a huge sigh of relief when he realized that Bud and Harriet – or even Jo and Chris - must have taken care of everything. The bed was made and the pillows were arranged perfectly. He walked over to the bed and lifted the sheets and mattress cover to inspect the mattress. He knew that they would probably end up replacing the mattress, but whoever scrubbed it did a very good job, and there was barely evidence of a stain remaining. _

_Knowing that Caroline would realize the bed didn't smell like her mother, Harm walked over to the vanity and rummaged through the lotions, perfumes, and body sprays - sniffing each one until he found the one that Mac usually put on at night. He sprayed it a few times on the sheets and pillows and then changed and went to retrieve Caroline. _

_In her bedroom, he found Caroline sitting on the floor with her blanket and stuffed animal. She looked so dejected and confused and Harm's heart broke even more. Caroline was sucking her thumb – a habit that she lost a very long time ago, and Harm realized just how scared she was. She looked up at him when he walked in the room, and she held her arms out to him. Even though she didn't understand what was going on, she knew there was something wrong. She clung to him tightly as he brought her to the bedroom and barely let go of him when he placed her on Mac's side of the bed. _

_Caroline pressed her head against her mother's pillow and then turn to study her father. "Will Baby come home from Heaven tomorrow?" she asked softly. _

_Harm swallowed and shook his head. "No, Itsy-Bitsy. Once you go to Heaven you stay there forever."_

"_I love Baby. I'm sad."_

"_Mommy and I love her, too. It's okay to be sad. We're all sad."_

_For the days immediately following, Caroline asked about Audrey every day and why she couldn't play with her – until one day, when she suddenly stopped, and didn't mention her again._

* * *

Harm cleared his throat trying to push that memory away. Mac was so focused on whatever it was that she was thinking about, that she barely registered the fact that he was awake. It wasn't until he reached out to cup her face with his hands that she looked at him completely. "Hi," he whispered.

"Hi," she parroted back, her voice soft as she placed her hands over his.

"Come here," he whispered and she rolled into his arms. "I love you." He kissed the top of her forehead.

"I love you," she said.

"Mommy? Daddy? You awake?" They heard Caroline ask from the door.

"Come on in, Itsy-Bitsy," Harm said, sighing softly. He wished they had a few more minutes alone to talk about what was on their minds, but he knew Caroline's energy and sense of childhood wonderment would bring them both some of the calmness and joy they were looking for today.

Mac discreetly wiped away any tears before rolling over to face the door where Caroline was. "Are you ready to go look for your basket? I'm sure the Easter Bunny hid it _very _well."

Caroline shook her head. "Not yet. I gots something for you first."

"For me?" Mac seemed confused and glanced at her husband, but he appeared to be as equally confused.

"And Daddy!" She nodded. "I be right back! 'Kay?"

"Okay."

Harm and Mac sat up against the headboard and turned on the lights on the nightstand as Caroline trotted back into the room. She was carrying an Easter basket, but it wasn't the one they hid for her the night before.

"I asked Aunt Harriet why the Easter Bunny doesn't bring stuff for grown-ups. I told her it made me sad," Caroline began. "She said I could make basket for you and she helped me. Looky!" The basket was filled with an assortment of crafts that Caroline had made, some candy, and a few activities for them to do as a family.

Harm reached in the basket and opened on one of the pictures Caroline drew. It was three stick figures standing by a yellow airplane.

"That's us by _Sarah_!" She exclaimed proudly. "You can take it to work so you can always think of me and Mommy!"

"I absolutely will! You did a great job, Itsy-Bitsy."

"Open your picture Mommy!"

"Okay, okay," Mac laughed as she shuffled the items around in the basket until she found the picture Caroline made for her. "Wow, this is excellent," she praised once she opened it.

"You like it?" Caroline asked.

"I _love _it," Mac corrected.

Caroline beamed. "It's you and me and Daddy with a dinosaur! RAWR! And you can take that to work so you can always think of me and Daddy! Guess what dinosaur it is! Guess, guess, guess!"

Mac studied the picture – even though Caroline drew in a very childlike way still, her drawings were very detailed for a child of her age. She knew exactly what type of dinosaur it was. "Come here," she motioned for Caroline to come closer, and then whispered her response in the child's ear.

"Yes!" Caroline squealed with delight, clapping her hands together.

Mac looked mischievously at Harm and passed the paper to him. "It's Daddy's turn to guess now."

Harm frowned. Mac may have picked up a thing or two about airplanes over the years, but he could definitely say he did not retain any knowledge about dinosaurs. He realized that he should probably make more of an effort to do so. "It's um...it's a, uh... um..." he scratched his chin as he tried to think of anything other than "T-Rex." "It's a brachiosaurus!" It was the only other name he could think of and he just blurted it out.

Mac tried to contain her laughter as best as she could, and Caroline looked absolutely appalled.

Caroline furrowed her brows. "No, Daddy! It's _clearly _a stegosaurus. Look at its back!" She pointed to the spikes she drew.

"Oh, I see now." Though, he really didn't.

Caroline seem unconvinced as she crossed her arms and then turned to look at her mother. "Next time we need to go see the dinosaurs again instead of the airplanes. Daddy has _lots _to learn about dinosaurs."


	11. Chapter 11

Special thanks to InkySplatt for this idea and some information. Thanks so much! And anything that is inaccurate about the dinosaurs is all on me...dinosaur knowledge is not my forte.

Also, thanks to everyone who reads and reviews. I don't always remember to add my appreciation, but rest assured, I do appreciate that you take the time to read and review!

* * *

Two Weeks After Easter  
2011

"Daddy!" Caroline called from the living room. "Are you ready for your test?"

Mac chuckled as she and her husband finished putting away the last of the dinner dishes. "Uh-oh, Harm. It looks like school's in session again."

"It's will be a piece of cake, Mac," he replied rather confidently.

Mac raised an eyebrow. "I am not so sure of that. Caroline is a tough teacher, and you didn't do so well on your pop quiz last night."

"Well," he crossed his arms. "Maybe I didn't do so well on my pop quiz because my private tutor has been distracting me." He took a step closer and his voice dropped lower when he said, "I find that it's very hard to think about an ankylosaurus or a stegosaurus when _you_ waltz around our bedroom in your skimpy little nightgowns. My mind tends to focus on _you_ and not some ancient creature."

"Oh, so my nightgowns are "skimpy," huh?" She teased, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "I can always wear long sleeve and long pants pajamas...if that would help your studies, of course."

"No!" He replied, quickly, as he shook his head. "That, um, won't be necessary. I _promise_ I will focus on my studies. Cross my heart."

Mac smiled sweetly. "No need for any of that cross your heart nonsense. Your promises alone carry more than enough weight in this household. And here's a little tip, Flyboy," she inched closer to him and lowered her voice, "try calling dinosaurs _reptiles_ instead of _creatures."_

"Daddy!" Caroline called again.

"I'm coming!" He called back as he stepped around Mac and made his way towards the living room.

* * *

Caroline was sitting pretzel style on the floor between the couch and the coffee table. She had flashcards stacked on the table and a few picture books. Harm took a moment to pause at the threshold of the room to study her. His little girl looked so grown up, and it made him a sad that time seemed to move so quickly the older he got.

Like his wife, his daughter was able to sense his presence before he even said anything.

"Hi, Daddy." She smiled as she turned around to face him.

"Hi, Itsy-Bitsy." He flashed a smile back.

"I'm not "Itsy-Bitsy," now." She reminded him. "I'm a teacher now. I'm just Miss Caroline."

He started to sit down on the couch, but Caroline gave him a stern look. "Not yet," she raised an eyebrow exactly how Mac would. "We can sit on the couch for story time – but first you have to take your test." She pointed to the empty space on the other side of the coffee table. "Please sit down, sir," she said in her best grown up voice.

"Okay, _ma'am_," he agreed – with a slight shake of his head - as he followed his orders.

Caroline wasn't joking when she told her mother that her father had a lot to learn about dinosaurs. For the past two weeks, she was on a mission to educate him. She had her mother help her find all her dinosaur books and flashcards, and quickly got to work on educating her dad to the best of her ability.

"Did you study like you were 'posed to?" She asked.

Harm nodded. "Yes."

Caroline was exactly like her mother and didn't seem entirely convinced either.

"Okay, well, maybe not as much as I should have. But I did study a little bit," he confessed as he folded his arms in front of him and leaned against the coffee table. In fact, he used his entire lunch break to cram the worksheets Caroline gave him a few days ago into his memory. In some ways, it was even more intimidating than law school.

"Ready?" she asked.

"As I'll ever be," Harm nodded.

Caroline began holding up flashcards one by one.

Harm rattled off answers. "Tyrannosaurus. Ankylosaurus. Stegosaurus. Ceratosaurus. Brachiosaurus. Pterodactyl. Brontosaurus. Triceratops. Diplodocus. Allosaurus. Velociraptor."

Caroline reached the end of the master pile. His daughter had one hell of a poker face when she wanted to, and Harm couldn't tell if he did as well as he thought he did. Caroline counted the pile that was to her left and announced there were two cards. Then, she carefully counted the pile to her right and announced there were nine cards. "Guess which is the right pile and guess which is the wrong pile," she said.

Harm bit his lip. "I don't know, Caroline," he fought the urge to call her "Itsy-Bitsy" in this moment. "Why don't you just tell me? Please?"

Caroline smiled. "Nine is what you got right!" She exclaimed happily. "And the ones you got wrong were only a little bit wrong. You just gots the brachiosaurus and the brontosaurus mixed up. But that's okay 'cuz they kinda look the same. You just need to practice a little more." Caroline was ecstatic as she ran around to the other side of the table and gave him the biggest hug she could. "Good job, Daddy!"

"You're an excellent teacher, Itsy-Bitsy," he said as he returned her hug and kissed her forehead. "Thank you for helping me learn something new."

"So, how'd our student do, Ms. Caroline?" Mac asked when she entered the room.

"Oh, Mommy, Daddy did a _very_ good job."

"He did?" Mac genuinely seemed surprised, and Harm couldn't resist rolling his eyes jokingly at her.

"I told you it would be a piece of cake, Mac." He said with his cocky grin in place.

"He only missed two! He thought a brachiosaurus was a brontosaurus and that a brontosaurus was a brachiosaurus."

"Not bad, Sailor. I must admit, I am a little surprised." She confessed.

He shrugged. "My teacher really knows her stuff, and what can I say...my tutor was pretty helpful, too," he winked at Mac. "In her own _special_ way, of course." Even though Mac may have been a slight distraction at times, she did have some _creative _ways when it came to getting him to retain the material.

"Okay, story time," Caroline announced.

"What's on today's reading list?" Mac asked as she sat down on the couch.

Caroline reached for two books off of the coffee table. "My favorites!" She said as she climbed up on the couch.

Harm sat down as well and Caroline smiled – she was completely content being sandwiched safely between her parents. Mac pulled the throw blanket from the corner of the couch and covered their legs with it.

"Perfect," Caroline sighed happily. "I love story time."

Mac ran her fingers through Caroline's wavy hair. "Me, too," she agreed. Caroline had picked out "The Alphabet Dinosaur Book" and "The Magic School Bus In the Time of the Dinosaurs." She held the book open as her parents each took turns reading one page at time to her.

When the last book was finished, Caroline turned to face her mother. "Can I tell Daddy about the field trip now?" she asked excitedly. "I think he's ready now."

"A field trip?" Harm asked, this time he was the person raising an eyebrow.

Mac grinned. "Go ahead."

Caroline turned to face her father. "Mommy said we can go on a field trip. And tomorrow's Saturday so we're gonna go tomorrow!"

"I think you better tell Daddy _where _we are going," Mac said. "Aviators like to know where their destination is."

"Oh, yeah," Caroline giggled. "We're going to Dinosaur Park! Mommy says it's gonna be so much fun!"

"And where is Dinosaur Park?" Harm asked, he had never heard of it before.

"Not that far away in Laurel, Maryland," Mac replied. "It just opened pretty recently, and I think it will be a lot of fun. However, if we do find anything, it will get collected and sent to the Smithsonian where it can be displayed so everyone can learn about it."

Caroline's face lit up. "That's super neat!"

* * *

The following afternoon, the Rabb trio found themselves at Dinosaur Park. Caroline was just as excited as she was every time they went to the Air and Space Museum, and Mac was in her element. It thrilled Harm to see both his girls so happy. He even picked up a few brochures from the welcome center when Mac took Caroline to use the restroom. They had information about different sites to tour and track dinosaurs in Colorado, Arizona, Utah, and Montana, and Harm was already making a mental checklist for a family vacation at one of those places in the future.

After stopping to take a picture of Caroline on the climbable replica of a dinosaur skeleton (a picture that Mac was sure would share a double frame with the picture of Caroline in _Sarah) _the family began to walkthe trails, Mac offered random tidbits of information about the location. "This fossil site has remains that are over 100 million years old. Once we finish here, we can go listen to the paleontologists talk and after that we can go to Montpelier Mansion. When we get there, there are all kinds of crafts and puzzles and so many other things."

Caroline's eyes grew wide. "Wow! This is so much fun!"

Harm reached for Mac's hand as they fell into step together and Caroline skipped along happily beside them.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself, Flyboy."

Harm grinned. "I am."

"I'm glad. I really didn't know if this would be your thing. A part of me thought you'd just go through the motions to humor Caroline," she confessed.

He turned to look at her. "I love learning about something that my wife and daughter find fascinating. I'm sorry I didn't make the effort years ago, Mac. Really. It was selfish of me to think that all of our "bonding exercises" as partners should revolve around flying or running."

"It's not like I really gave you the opportunity. When I was a little girl, Uncle Matt would take me to track dinosaurs in the desert, and my dad thought it was stupid. Then Chris thought it was strange." She shrugged. "It's not something I really shared with people. Hell, John didn't even know about it. You seemed amused by it, but early on, I didn't know if I could get a good read on you, so I kept my walls up about the whole fossil thing."

"What did Mic think?" he whispered. For some reason, he had to know.

"Do we really need to go there, Harm? I think you can figure that one out on your own." The look on Harm's face made her continue, though, he looked so _concerned_. "He thought it was a waste of time, bizarre, stupid, and quirky. And when we moved in together, I practically had to beg him not to get throw out my fossil table."

"Oh, Mac," he sighed. "I'm sorry. No one should ever make you feel that something you love is stupid." He squeezed her hand as he tried to recall if _he_ ever said anything insensitive about her interests before. Sure, they _teased_ each other and _joked_ about airplanes and dinosaurs, but he really hoped he hadn't crossed the line in all the time he's known her.

She could tell the wheels were really turning in his brain, and she smiled softly at him. "You're a good man, you know?" Unlike all the other men in her life who knew of her interests, Harm _never_ was insensitive about it. His jokes about it were just that – jokes – and she always knew that.

"LOOK!" Caroline exclaimed happily as she trotted off of the path and over to the site. "Oh, wow!"

Her parents picked up their pace to join her.

"This is _amazing_." She kneeled down and began to scour around to see what kind of fossils they may find. "I wonder what we'll find first."

Caroline talked enthusiastically about all the things that they may find and she quickly caught the attention of the older paleontologist who was responsible for manning the fossil area that day. After simply observing for a while, he decided to go over to introduce himself to the family.

"Hello, there," he greeted. "I'm Dr. Marlowe."

Caroline, being the preceptive child that she was, put two and two together. "Are you a paleontologist?" She slowly sounded out the word. "I'm Caroline! And this is my mommy and my daddy!"

The man smiled in a way that would resemble Santa Clause. He had rosy cheeks and glasses, but a short white beard. "Why, yes, I am. You're a smart thing, aren't ya? What brings you lovely people out here today?" He asked as he quickly shook hands with Caroline's parents as they introduced themselves.

"A field trip...for my daddy," Caroline replied. "Daddy knows _everything_ about airplanes, but he doesn't know lots about dinosaurs, so I teached him, but Mommy helped, too. She's the one who teached me about dinosaurs. Mommy said we can come here and learn some more."

Dr. Marlowe smiled at the girl's mother. "Well, I think you must have a pretty smart mommy. I heard you guys talking, and you really know your stuff. She must be a really good teacher."

"The bestest!" Caroline agreed.

"Is she a scientist? Maybe a paleontologist even? Is that how your mommy knows so much about dinosaurs?"

"No!" Caroline giggled. "But she's the smartest mommy ever!"

"Well, do you want to be a paleontologist someday so you can teach everyone about dinosaurs and not just your daddy?"

Caroline wrinkled her nose. "I don't think so. I like dinosaurs for fun, like Mommy does, but I still think I wanna fly airplanes like my daddy!"

"You have some pretty special parents, Caroline." He flashed another smile at the family. "Well, I'll leave you be. Let me know if you have any questions or if you find something, okay?"

"Okay!"

"How's it going, Sailor?" Mac asked her husband a short time later. "Any luck?"

"No," he shrugged. "What about you and Itsy-Bitsy?" he asked, taking a step closer to them.

Mac opened her mouth to say something, but she was interrupted by Caroline announcing, "I found something! I found something!"

"You did?!" Mac turned to see what Caroline was so focused on. "Ah, yes. I think you did. Good job, sweetheart."

"What is it, Momma?" Caroline wondered.

Mac studied the object intently. "Well, I can't say for sure, but I _think_ it is a vertebra from a velociraptor. We better take it to Dr. Marlowe and find out more."

Caroline wasn't about to let a teaching moment pass her by. "Daddy, what do you know about a velociraptor?"

"They are usually called "raptors" for short."

"And?" she prompted, waiting for more.

"They're about two meters long, they eat meat and they may have even had feathers."

Caroline clapped her hands together. "Yay, Daddy! You passed the class!"

"Only because I had two of the best teachers ever," he pointed out.

Caroline pursed her lips together, and her parents could tell an idea was brewing. "So, does that mean we can all get ice cream on the way home? It's a special day."

Her parents chuckled and shared a look that was and entire conversation within itself.

"Yes," they agreed in unison, before they all three went to talk about the alleged fossil with Dr. Marlowe.


	12. Chapter 12

Thanks for reading and reviewing!

This chapter parallels the first chapter of "Road to You" - initially, I was going to use this as a prologue for that story, but ultimately, I decided against it because I wanted the symbolism of starting "Road to You" on National Adoption Day. So, you'll just get to read this here instead. ;-)

* * *

The Pentagon  
Harm's Office  
October 27, 2012

Life was full of changes for the Rabb family near the end of 2012. Harm's new orders finally came through and he was selected to be the new Judge Advocate General. Sturgis and Keeter had thought he completely lost his mind when he said he'd rather be the JAG than stay at the Pentagon. They were quick to remind him that leaving the billet as legal counsel to the Joint Chiefs of Staff could be a huge step backwards career wise.

The simple truth? Harm hated his job at the Pentagon, and he didn't feel like he was serving his country the way he was meant to in that capacity. He was grateful that it allowed him and Mac to come back to the States so soon after London, and was very appreciative of the flexibility he was able to exercise over his schedule after Audrey died, but the politics – both foreign and domestic- and policy making were really starting to get to him. For the first time in his entire naval career, he felt like he was having a burnout.

Mac had called him out on it a few months ago, after he had been in a bad mood for most of the week and not even Caroline's antics were able to put him in better spirits like they usually did.

She had asked him point blank if his heart was still in the Navy. At that time, he was really holding out hope for the JAG billet -even if it did come with its own set of politics- but his Navy career did have some blemishes and he wasn't entirely sure that he would be selected. He confessed to Mac that his heart was still very much in the Navy, but not his current billet. He told her if he wasn't selected to be the JAG when Creswell retired in the near future, he would start looking for billets other than the Pentagon... or, he had pointed out, if she didn't want to uproot their lives and move from the DC area, he _would _retire.

Mac had shut down the talk of retirement right away. She always knew Harm would be a lifer and wouldn't leave the Navy until the mandatory retirement age.

"_You just said your heart is still in the Navy. I can't ask you to retire after that."_

"_You're not asking. I'm suggesting it. Do we really want to move Caroline from the only home she remembers?"_

"_Harm," Mac began, her voice gentle. "I know what military life is like. We've been very fortunate with our orders. Yes, I do consider DC to be home, and I'm so thankful we were able to come back to DC, but I'm not naïve, either. I don't care if we end up halfway across the world again, Harm. Caroline will be fine, too, and Mattie. She's a young adult now, she has a life of her own in Maryland...if we leave, she'll still be able to call and visit and video chat. What matters to me, Harm, is that you and I are together." She reached for his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Our location doesn't change who we are," she reminded him. _

_They were the same words he said to her in a pivotal moment in their relationship before, but her tone didn't harbor any anger or resentment. The words were sincere._

Just about four months after that conversation, he received official word that he was selected for the JAG position. While he knew that Mac was right – and in a way, he had been right all those years ago – location would not change who they were, he was very happy to be staying in DC.

He knew that being the JAG would come with its own set of trials and tribulations, but he could only hope that he could guide the current JAG lawyers the same way his predecessors had guided him. However, it was going to be an adjustment for him to remember that "the admiral's office" or "the general's office" was _his_ office, and that he wouldn't be running into Mac in the breakroom or anywhere else in the halls of JAG. _That_ was going to take some time to get used to more than anything else, he thought.

"Daddy? Why don't I remember this picture?" Caroline asked, confused, and Harm was rattled from his thoughts.

Harm looked up from the box he was packing at his desk and couldn't help the smile that spread across his face when he saw his daughter. Caroline resembled her grandmother Trish's appearance more and more each day. Her wavy blonde hair fell just at her shoulders and she had beautiful green eyes that sparkled every time she smiled - the smile the she undoubtedly inherited from him, though. As for her personality, that was a perfect combination of both of her parents. It only took a second for Harm to realize that his daughter was looking at the picture of him and his father which was sitting on the bookshelf in his office.

"I don't remember you looking like that," she pointed to Harm Sr.'s mustache. "That's silly, and _that's _not me!" She exclaimed when she pointed to the young Harm in the photo. "Who is that and where am I? Why doesn't it look like that picture?" She rattled off questions as she pointed to the picture Mac had taken of the two of them in "Sarah" just a few years ago. "It looks _old."_

"It looks old because it is old," her father replied. Harm walked over to where Caroline was standing and took the picture frame off of the shelf. He smiled as he sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk and motioned for Caroline to sit with him. "That's not me, Itsy-Bitsy."

"It looks like you," she countered as she climbed up on the chair so she was sitting on her father's lap and crossed her arms.

"Yeah, I guess it does," he smiled again. "But that's not me. _This_ is me," he pointed to himself in the picture.

"That's a little kid!"

Harm chuckled. "Daddy was little once, too. That is me," he said again as he pointed to himself. "And _that," _he pointed to Harm Sr., "is _my _daddy."

Caroline didn't know too much about Harm Sr. She had asked one time why her daddy called her nana "mom" but he called her papa "Frank" instead of "dad." Harm and Mac tried to keep things as simple as they could for her and just said that Frank was Harm's stepfather. Harm didn't think that Caroline could possibly understand what that meant, but the answer satisfied her at the time.

For as much as Harm wanted Caroline to know what a true American hero her grandfather was, he didn't want her to lose the blissful ignorance that came with childhood innocence. He was her age when his father's plane was shot down, and his world was forever changed when it came to a crashing halt that Christmas Eve. He wished Mac would have been with them right now to help field some of Caroline's questions. He knew he should keep answers simple and direct, but the situation was far from simple.

He didn't know how to explain genetics, second marriages, and the Vietnam War to a six-year-old. When would there even be an appropriate time to tell her about Sergei, the uncle she never met? Harm frowned and chastised himself for falling out of touch with his brother. Maybe he should do something about that...

He looked at the picture again and then glanced at a family photo of himself, Mac, Mattie and Caroline that he had already put in the box. He had been thinking about family a lot more than usual ever since they explained to Caroline that Frank was his stepfather. He knew that all families were unique in their own ways, and that you didn't have to be related by blood to be considered a family. He couldn't help it that he began to think about adoption more and more either. He loved raising a family with Mac and he wanted to add another child into the mix. He brought up the topic with Mac once, months ago, and while it didn't go over horribly, it didn't go over well either. She still had some reservations about adoptions, and for as much as he did want another child, he understood her concerns and didn't push the conversation.

"Daddy, are you payin' attention?" Caroline's voice rattled him from his thoughts and he wondered what she said that he must not have heard.

Harm sighed and hugged Caroline close. "I was just thinking," he replied before a kiss on the crown of her head. "My dad died a very long time ago," he finally said, sadly. "This is the last picture I have with my dad and it's very special to me. It's so special to me, that I wanted a picture of me and you like that, so Mommy took one when we went to the farm."

"Did your daddy fly planes, too?"

"Yes, he did."

"Is that why you fly planes?"

"Probably."

"I wanna fly planes! I wanna fly "Sarah" _and _Navy planes!" Caroline exclaimed. "'Cause I wanna be like you when I get big."

There wasn't a doubt in his mind about it, and he knew Caroline meant every word she said. She would definitely be the fourth generation Rabb aviator. "Maybe someday you will," he replied.

"I will," she said, firmly. She looked at the picture again and tapped her finger over Harm Sr.'s face. "He looks like you...are there more pictures?"

"I have some more pictures at home." Harm nodded. "There are a few of me, Nana, and my dad together. You can see some of the hairstyles that were popular back then. I bet you will hardly even recognize Nana with some of the hairstyles she had! She used to have _really_ long hair. We can look at them tonight."

Caroline giggled at the thought of her nana with long hair. Then, she turned serious again, "Did he sound like you, too?"

Memories of the cassette letters his father sent home played throughout his mind. They were now converted to MP3 files and saved to a flash drive that was stored in the safe in his home office. Someday, when she was old enough, he would let Caroline listen to those as well. "I think as I get older, we sound more alike. It wasn't always like that, though."

"Do you miss him?"

"All the time." Harm stood up, with Caroline in his arms, and placed the picture of his father in the box on his desk. There was so much more to tell Caroline, but it wasn't a conversation for now. But when he did tell the story of his father, he would also tell Caroline how amazing her mother was for following him all the way across the world to help him find out his father's fate. "We will talk more about my dad another time," he finally said. "When you are a little bit older."

"I _am_ six."

"Are you sure? I thought you were five," he teased as he set her back on her feet near his desk.

"Five?!" She seemed appalled as she threw her arms up in frustration. "Daddy, I was five last year. I _just _turned six _this_ year. A couple days ago, Daddy!" She pursed her lips together, crossed her arms and stared at him much like Mac would when she was completely exasperated with him. "You took me to see the planes you use for work! 'Cause you wouldn't take me for a ride in "_Sarah_."

All Caroline wanted to do for her birthday was to fly in "Sarah," and truthfully, if it was up to Harm alone, she would have. He couldn't wait to take her for her first flight in the Stearman – the trips to the airfield to visit the beloved plane usually ended in them taxing down the runway together, but to date, no actual flying has occurred.

Mac insisted that their aspiring aviator was still too young for that particular adventure. Considering what Mac's first experience in "Sarah" was, Harm couldn't blame her for the reservations she had. He pointed out that the odds of something like that happening ever again were statistically unlikely, and in turn, his wife, being the attorney that she was, had pointed out that there was only a four percent chance of her becoming pregnant and they had beat those odds _twice_. So, Mac had made her point, and they told Caroline that she'd have to wait a little bit longer to go flying in "Sarah." Hopefully by her next birthday, Mac would come around to the idea of Caroline flying with him.

To make up for it, Harm was able to exercise his rank and orchestrate a plan that was most definitely an "Admiral's privilege." He was able to make arrangements so that he and Mac could take Caroline to Naval Station Norfolk to tour the base and some of the aircraft carriers there. She loved every minute she spent analyzing the military aircrafts and learning about how her daddy used to fly those planes, too.

"Oh, yeah. I remember now." He grinned.

"So, then why can't we talk about your daddy now?"

"Well...there is a lot to his story," Harm tried to explain. "It's not just about family, it's about American history, too."

"I don't know what American history is, Daddy." She frowned.

"Which is exactly why we will talk about this later...when you do know what American history is. I promise."

Caroline knew one thing for sure; her daddy's promises were very special – her mommy always told her that. So, if her daddy said they would talk about it when she was older, she believed him - even if she was already conjuring up a plan to have Mattie teach her all about American history when she came home to visit.

Harm picked up the box from his desk and tucked it under his arm, with his other hand he reached for Caroline's hand. "Alright, Itsy-Bitsy," he began. "Mommy is waiting for us at the pizza place, and we don't want a hungry Marine on our hands."

Caroline giggled. "No, we don't!" She agreed. "But I still get to see your new office after, right?"

"Right," Harm confirmed with a nod. "And you'll get to see where Mommy's office used to be and the courtrooms that Mom and I would work in. And if Uncle Bud is there, I'm sure he'll show you his office."

"Oh, goodie!" She exclaimed. "This is an adventure."

"Yes, it is," Harm agreed as they stepped into the elevator and he pressed the button to take them to the lobby. He watched as the elevator doors closed and symbolized the end of one chapter in life, and he couldn't help but to wonder what adventures the new chapter would bring to his life, both professionally and personally.


	13. Chapter 13

Thanks again to all of those who read/review. I'm glad you're still interested in this series of mine.

* * *

Rabb Residence  
2011

Harmon Rabb sighed, mentally willing himself not to become frustrated, but it was becoming harder and harder with each passing second.

"Please sit still so I can get the splinter out, huh?" He reached for her hand again, moving it more under the light as he squinted to see the tiny splinter in her thumb.

His patient wiggled around from her perch on the marble counter in the bathroom. "But it hurts."

"It's just a little baby splinter. It's not that bad."

"Yes, it is," she whined.

"I have a very good nurse on duty who is prepared to give you a princess band-aid and maybe even some ice cream if you just let me dig this splinter out, okay?"

Ice cream sounded nice –if it was chocolate- but it suddenly became the last thing on her mind after she processed his words. "_Dig_ it out?!"

Harm sighed. "I didn't mean it that way!"

She pulled her hand from his grasp. "It doesn't need to come out. It can just stay."

"Nope. It's coming out," he said as he reached for her hand again. "If it doesn't it will get infected."

"Maybe it will come out by itself?"

"Honey, you already let it soak for ten minutes. It's being stubborn," -_ like you-_ he thought to himself. "It just needs a little bit of help. Let me get it out, please?" He was practically begging.

"Is the patient all fixed?"

They turned their attention to the door.

"No, Itsy-Bitsy," Harm shook his head. "Mommy didn't let me get her splinter out yet."

"Oh, Mommy, why not? Are you afraid?" Caroline wondered. "Can I sit by the patient, Doctor?"

Harm nodded and lifted Caroline up so she was sitting on the counter next to Mac. Caroline placed her head on her mother's shoulder. "It's okay if you're scared, but Daddy will make you all better."

"She speaks the truth, Mac."

Harm was thoroughly confused by his wife's demeanor. He'd seen her handle being shot better than she was handling this splinter, and it wasn't making any sense to him. He knew that she was pretty good about handling first aid, and she even saw the aftermath of some pretty severe war injuries when she was in the corps. He was so incredibly befuddled about how a tiny little splinter that she got while they were preparing Caroline's backyard playhouse for summer could cause her to have this type of reaction.

"You can hold my hand, Momma. Just like I holded your hand when I was scared when that mean bee stung me that time."

Mac smiled at her incredibly sweet daughter. "Okay, baby, let's do this." She held Caroline's hand with her non-splinter infected hand and took a deep breath as she closed her eyes. There were very few things she was squeamish about in life, but splinters were one of those things. She _could not_ watch as her husband removed the piece of wood from her thumb.

"Three...two...one..." Harm counted slowly as he pricked her skin with the tweezers and grasped the splinter. "...and there we go. It's out."

Mac opened one eye and then another. "That's it?"

"That's it!" Harm confirmed.

"You were so brave, Mommy!" Caroline praised. "Time for your band-aid." She reached for the box of princess band-aids next to them on the counter and opened one.

Mac knew she didn't actually need a band-aid, but Nurse Caroline took her job very seriously. "Thank you, baby."

"You also get chocolate ice cream. I'll go get the toppings!" She announced proudly. She reached her arms out towards her father signaling she wanted help getting down from the counter. "Wait!" She clung to her father's neck as he set her feet on the ground and whispered something in his ear.

Harm grinned. "I think that's just what the patient needs," Mac could hear him whisper back. "Go get everything out for the ice cream and Mommy and I will be there soon."

"Okay!" Caroline giggled as she made her way out of the bathroom.

"_Just_ the toppings, Itsy-Bitsy!" Harm called out as a reminder. "Wait for us to get the ice cream and the dishes."

"Okay, Daddy!" She called back.

"And just what exactly was that little sidebar about?" Mac asked, arms crossed and eyebrow raised when they were alone.

"Well, Caroline thinks that I should give you a kiss to make it better."

"Oh, she does, does she?"

Harm nodded. "Nurse's orders, Mac."

"And you aren't one to disobey a direct order..."

"No, ma'am, and I do rather like this particular order, Marine."

"Me, too," she agreed as he reached for her hand so he could place a kiss on her thumb.

"Better?" He asked.

She nodded, "Yes, but I could use another one. Right here," she tapped her lips with her pointer finger.

"Is _that_ an order?" He wondered, his eyes sparkling.

"Maybe more of a suggestion." She winked.

"Suggestion accepted, Counselor." He said before leaning in to kiss her lips gently.

When they pulled away, Harm had to ask. "Do you have a phobia of splinters or something? I mean, Mac, you handled it like a champ when you were shot by the poacher and there was _a lot _of blood that day. I'm sorry, but I have a hard time believing that a splinter can be worse than that."

Mac sighed heavily. "I'm _triggered_ by splinters," she admitted, softly, her gaze dropping to the floor.

"Now, there has to be a story there."

She sighed and then looked up at him again. "When I was about Caroline's age, Uncle Matt and my mother took me to visit my grandmother. She lived in this really old farmhouse with a wooden porch. She was getting up there in age, and the property wasn't in the best shape, but I was so young that I didn't know or understand any of that. I was so excited about our trip that the minute Uncle Matt put the car in park I jumped out and ran up the steps to see my grandma. The steps weren't very secure and I started to fall. So, I grabbed onto the railing to balance myself and ended up with a huge splinter. Right here," she held out her right palm and ran her fingers over it. "It was nearly the whole width of my palm, and it really got under the skin."

Harm winced.

"I was hysterical," she recalled. "I can't remember if it hurt or if I was just afraid, but I didn't want anyone to look at it let alone take it out. Uncle Matt ended up having to hold me down while my mother and the neighbor worked together to get it out. They used a needle and five-year-old Sarah MacKenzie was _not_ happy about that. I'm surprised no one called the police because that's how loud I was screaming and crying. I kicked my mom a few times before Uncle Matt was able to get a hold of my legs and arms at the same time. And you know what else?"

"What?"

"They all told me not to look. They said if I would just close my eyes the splinter would be out when I opened them and I wouldn't even feel it, but no. I couldn't do that. I was stubborn and I watched the whole damn thing."

Harm made a face.

"So, yeah, ever since, I can't handle splinters... especially my own. I can never watch one being removed ever again, either."

He took her hand in his again and pressed a kiss to her palm. "Does that help ease the memory?"

"I think so, but do you know what else would help?" She smiled mischievously.

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and say – chocolate ice cream?"

"Yes," she replied with a giggle.

"Come on," he helped her hop down from the counter. "I'm sure Caroline has a smorgasbord of ice cream toppings waiting for you."


End file.
